Deep into the Makaii
by foreverlostindreams
Summary: A girl must go deep into the heart of the demon world to find her stolen friend. Along the way she gets unexpected help from an unlikely ally. Will these two get along long enough for them to rescue her friend? Or will they kill each other first? rated m JUST to be safe
1. Chapter 1

You'll find out more about her later on in the story along with you.  
'OMG! HOW THE HELL DID I END UP IN THIS MESS?!' You thought as you quickly dashed through the doors, trying to avoid the group of demons behind you. "Don't think you can get away, human! Hehehehehe! You're dinner!" a demon called out from behind. 'Gotta catch me first!' you thought as you scrambled under a branch and made a hard right. 'Gotta think! Gotta think! Where can I hide from these monsters?!' You suddenly spot a good hiding place up ahead. You risked a glance behind and saw that the demons weren't far but far enough not to see you dodge into the hole in a nearby tree. It wasn't that big, a small child could fit into it easily but you weren't no kid but you could fit easily enough to get in and out. Once in, you flatten yourself back as far as you can. You started to hear the demons who were chasing you come closer and closer until finally they were right in front of your hiding place. You held a breath when they stopped. They were an ugly bunch, two looked like some kind of mutated pig while the other three looked like some kind of monster from an old movie. "Where's the human?" one of the pigs asked. One of the others, who appeared to be the leader of this sorry bunch, had a small pair of bat-like wings and an ugly face with a skinny looking body replied, "She's around here somewhere! Spread out!" 'Ah crap!' you thought worriedly as you watch them check each and every spot and ground you've been by. You shrink back and kneeled as low as you could go when they came to your tree. 'Please, please, please, PLEASE don't let them find me! I've come too far to be caught now!' Suddenly you felt a soft whoosh above you and a voice saying, "Nothing here! The bitch must of gone further then we thought!" "Damn! Then let's get going!" You heard footsteps running away. You waited for a full hour before slowly standing up. Cautiously, you peaked your head out a little, trying to see if they're still around. After making sure no one was there, you quickly get out and start to make a run for it when suddenly someone grabbed you from behind while saying, "Bout time you got your sweet little ass out of there! We were getting hungry! Hehehehe!" The demons walk out of their hiding places and stood in front of you. The leader came up to you and said, "You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" He looked around to the others with an odd look in his eyes. "Why don't we have some fun first before we dine, hmm? Hate to waste such an opportunity with a cute thing like her! Especially since we dont often get Ningenkai to play with!" The demon who held you tied you to a tree with your back facing it. He started to move closer to you and played with your hair. The demon moved his face closer to you and smelled your hair. 'There is no WAY in HELL am I going down without a fight!' you thought angrily and kneed him in the groin and head-butted him. "Let me go, you sickos! Do so now or else I won't hurt you much!" You growled at them and was rewarded with a slap and punch. "Stupid Ningenkai bitch! Blasso! Knifes!" the leader growled to someone who brought out a pair of wicked looking knifes and handed them to the leader. He smirked evilly and said, "You'll regret you ever kicked me, bitch!" You kneed him again when he moved close to you again. You smirked and said, "Like that?" Suddenly you felt your cheek sting a bit and felt blood flow slowly down it. The leader got up and held a knife to your throat. "Now be a good little morsel and let us have our fun." he purred silkily at you. You growled and kicked him in the stomach. A risky move since the blade slightly cut your neck a bit. For your effort you were rewarded again with a punch but this one knocked you out cold. Just before your world went black, you heard a cold voice say, "So this is what the Makii is coming to? Picking on ningekais who blunder in?"  
~Dream~  
"Hey Michelle!" You called out to your friend, who was hanging up some laundry. The pretty petite blonde smiled at you and waved before saying, "Hey Reeses-Pieces! What's new?" You groaned at her nick name and said for the billionth time, "Mich! It's Samantha!" She only shook her head and was about to reply when suddenly a demon came out of nowhere and stabbed a blade deep into her back. "MICHELLE!" you scream and felt something slip into you when  
~End Dream~  
You snap up from laying on the ground with a cold sweat all over you. You look around and found you were still deep in the Makii. 'Thank god! Just a horrible dream!' you thought with relief. 'Huh? What the..? I'm untied?' you suddenly noticed a fire blazing next to you. 'Who made that?' You heard a voice suddenly say, "Good. You're alive." You whipped around to find a guy who was shorter then you by a few inches, was wearing all black cloths and had black hair that was sticking straight up with a star burst of white in the front of his hair. What caught your eyes was his deep red eyes that seemed to look right through you. "Yes I'm alright, thank you very much. Who are you? Are you the one who saved me from those demons?" He didn't reply and walked right past you and sat near the fire. You stared at him for a second before standing up and stretching. "How long was I out?" "Hn. About an hour or two." You let out a sigh of relief, afraid more time had past then that. "That's good." You quickly look around and found your pack and supplies next to the fire. You walk over and checked to make sure everything was in it. "Well, I guess thanks for the rescue." No answer. "Not much of a talker, eh? So what's the catch?" You asked, clearly catching him off guard on the last question. He stared at you before looking at you with a slight glare, "What do you mean, "what's the catch?"" You sat next to him and said while taking out a small piece of food, "You saved me but you're a demon. From what I've seen so far, demons don't help people, not even their own, without wanting something in return. So what's the catch with you?" He stared at you in shock so you said, "I know you're demon since this IS the Makii." "So you DID know where you were. I was wondering why a ningekai was in here in the first and why you didn't act like most do when they found themselves in here." You shrugged and said, "That's cause I have something I must do here." He replied in a cold tone before standing up, "Well, looks like whatever it is you wanted to do will have to wait cause I'm here to take you back to the human world." You merely stared at him before getting up and saying, "Sorry. No can do. I HAVE to find someone." He looked at you before replying, "Another human after power. Figures. You're going back whether you like it or not." You stared at him coldly. "No. I have to complete my task. Oh! You're with those demons who help lost humans, aren't you?" He gawked at you for a second before saying, "How did you know?" Suddenly you felt a blade at your neck and noticed that the guy was holding a katana at your throat. "Who are you? What is a human like you doing in the Makii? If you know already what I'm suppose to do, then why'd you come here?"  
You look at him straight in the eyes and said honestly, "I'm not here for power or anything that has to do with it. I came here because something precious to me was taken. I WILL find it. I'm not leaving without it." The blade was removed while he said, "Too bad. You're still going back." With that, he tried to grab you but you moved quickly out of the way and you tried to run for it when suddenly you felt someone grab you around your waist and a voice saying, "Don't try to run off! You're going back!" "No! I can't! Not after I worked so hard to get this close!" with that said you dug in your pants pocket (for the next sentence I have one request to all the fans of Hiei out there:*gets on knees and begs* Don't hurt me! Please, please, PLEASE don't hurt me! T T I beg of you! I wanna live!), took out your taser and tased the guy in the gonads. He let out a surprised yell and immediately let go of you to double over in pain. "Sorry but I can't go just yet!" you said quickly before running off in another direction. 'Where did I leave off?! Ah! There's my target!' you thought happily as you got back on track on the mission. You didn't want to get too happy considering there's an angry demon who you just tased between the legs will most DENFINITLY be looking and coming after you. You kept running for about an hour before slowing down after taking a few twists and turns before deciding that you must have lost him. You finally stopped in front of a river and plopped down. '*whew* Hopefully I lost him. Hated to have to do that to the poor guy but I can't allow anyone to stop me.' you thought. You took out a map that had the location you are trying to get to. From the looks of it, it's not that far from where you were sitting. 'Good. Right on track. Hang on, Mich. I'm coming for you soon!' "Baka ningen onnanoko !" you heard a familiar voice say from behind you. And from the sounds of it, the owner didn't sound very happy at the moment. You whipped around to find the guy you met earlier in front of you with a glare that could kill. You backed up slowly. He stormed over to you while saying, "I'm going to take you back right NOW! Personally I'd love to leave you here for THAT little stunt but I'm told to take all ningenkais back alive." "No! I'm not going back!" You moved backwards and suddenly the guy saw what was going on and said with his eyes widening, "Don't! You'll fall into.." but he was too late since you already fell into the river and was taken away from him at top speed. You struggled to stay afloat, hoping you weren't going to drown before you completed your mission. You accidentally swallowed some water, you coughed as you continued to struggle. On the side, the man kept trying to keep an eye on you while trying to figure out how to save you. You suddenly heard roaring from somewhere up ahead. You looked and to your horror there was a waterfall.. And it was getting closer with every passing second. 'Ah crap!' you thought, suddenly wishing the guy would come and save you before you went over the falls. But no such luck cause you were right at the falls. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" you screamed as you went over and down. Your stomach dropped as you fell down the falls. Suddenly you felt something grab you from the side and much to your happiness it was the guy. "You could of came sooner, you know!" you yelled at him as he pulled you close to him. You noticed that you were still falling, except it was head first and the man was holding you. Just before you two blacked out, he pulled you close while you buried your face in his chest.  
~A while later~  
"Uhhhhhh. What happened?" you said slowly as you began to wake. Memory flashed through your mind that made you snap up. 'Oh god! Did he survive?! Oh I hope so!' you thought until you noticed that he was next to you, not breathing. 'Ah shit!' you thought as you performed CPR on him. 'Come on! Come on! Please! Wake up!' you thought franticly as you hit his chest to get his heart going. Suddenly he began to cough and coughed up a lot of water. "Man! You had me scared for a second!" you told him before he passed out again. 'Ah man! Not again! ' you thought as you checked him out and found he was fine, just unconscious. You put one arm under him and one of his around your shoulders before you carried/dragged him away from the water. 'Where can I leave him? Ah! There!' you thought happily before taking you guys over to a very secluded cave and laying him carefully on the ground. 'He should wake up in about an hour or so.' you thought before you took out a blanket and covered him. Then you went to find the castle you were looking for. You felt a little guilty about leaving him like that but time is of the essence. After searching for about an hour or two, you were about to give up when you suddenly ran into an old run down castle. 'This must be it. Hopefully the person I'm looking for is in there.' was your last thought before you walked through a nearby door. The castle was dank, musty and very un-kept. (me:What did you expect? A nice looking inside and everything be honky-dory? Don't think so!) Your heart dropped at the sight of so many doors. 'Well, she must be in one of them.' you thought as you went to each and every one to check to see if the person was inside. "Hello? Is anyone in there?" you asked as you popped your head in but found no one. "Hello? Is someone there?" you heard a voice say from behind and whipped around to find a...


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello? Is someone there?" you heard a voice say from behind and whipped around to find aold woman about your height and looked human except for a pair of horns on her head. "Are you Akako?" She stared at you in confusion before asking, "I'm she. Who are you? What do you want?" you let out a relief sigh and replied, "I was told you might have some information I need." She laughed at you and said cockily, "Human, I know JUST about everything that exist!" "Good. I need to know how to find Isaac." She stopped laughing and looked around in fear. "You heard of him? Good." Akako looked at you in fear and demanded, "Why you looking for him?! No one wants to look for THAT man!" You answered, "He has something I want. Please. If you know anything on to find him or where he is, please tell me." Akako looked around before motioning you to follow her. You did cautiously until she took you deeper into the castle and stopped somewhere deep in the middle. She looked around before whispering to you, "What I'm about to tell may mean our deaths." You smirked and said, "At this point, I'm not afraid of anything. Just tell me." She sighed and whispered again, "He's somewhere in the southern region of the Makii." "Yeah. And?" You asked, hoping that wasnt it. She sighed and continued, "That's it. That's all I dare tell you." "What?! But you must know more then that! Please! I've come a long ways to be" but she cut you off, "That's all Im willing to tell you girl! Unlike you, I'm AFRAID of him! I don't want his wrath running down on my head because of you!" After arguing with her for five minutes you finally gave up. You sighed and said, "Thanks anyway." You took off and just out of the castle. 'That was a complete waste of time! At least I have some idea of where that bastard is. Hold on just a little longer.' You were just about to go on your way when you suddenly remembered the guy from earlier. 'Oh man! Almost forgot about him!' you thought as you quickly made your way back to the cave.  
When you reached the cave, much to your relief, the guy was gone. 'So he's okay. That's good.' you thought as you look around just to make sure he was gone. You felt a small disappointment as you left. You were just down the road when you realized something. 'Hey! He stole my blanket!' you thought angrily as you stomped down the road. Luckily it was your spare blanket but still, you might have needed that down the road. 'Let's see..where did I put that map?' you thought as you took off the pack and dug around until you found the map. 'Now let's see.I was just at the castle so I'm right .' you thought as you make a mark on the map you were just at. The map had little marks that covered a small portion of it while the rest was a huge empty space. The marks meant that you've been to those places already. 'Hmmm. Not bad for a weeks worth.' you thought proudly as you surveyed the places you've been. 'Now if I take this route I could make it to the southern border in about three days.' you thought as you make a small mark on the route you wanted. 'But if I take that way, it would take me through mountains but..' you thought as you checked the map again. 'If I take THIS one but it would take me maybe three weeks just to go around the mountains while the one through the mountains would take me two weeks but the draw back is I have no equipment for mountain climbing. But' an image flashed through your mind, 'but..I don't have a choice. I must go through it.' You put the map way and made a turn towards the mountains. 'Now, just have to hope that guy doesn't show up again.' You made your way through the dense woods and almost got eaten by a plant AND almost became one with nature when some random tree tried to eat you but you somehow got away from it. 'Egads! Never thought I'd be running away from TREES, of all things!' You took a sit next to some rock AFTER you checked to make sure nothing was going to surprise you. You dug around in your pack and took out some water. There was no way in Tahiti you were going to drink water here, especially since you have no idea what could be in the water. Every now and then the guy you met earlier kept going through your mind. His red eyes seemed to haunt your every waking thought. 'Hope he's okay.' you thought as you made your way to the mountains. When you reached the daunting peaks, your heart nearly dropped into despair until you took another look at the map, just to make sure this was the quicker route of the two. Unfortunately, it was. 'Well,' you thought unhappily as you started to climb, 'here goes nothing.'  
~5 hours later~  
"Oh. My. God! Just how big is this thing?!" you cried out as you slip down yet again on yet another hill. After landing on your butt again you got up and started up again. When you finally crossed that stupid hill and down the side, it was getting a little windy. You shivered a bit but kept moving. From what the map told you, there was a cave somewhere up head. Maybe bout a ten mile hike. This terrain was kicking your butt. You weren't use to this; you were a city girl who went hiking and camping for a few days at a time. 'Oh what would I kill for a hot shower right now!' You continued hiking for a while while the wind got stronger and stronger as you got closer to the mountain. Not to mention it was getting colder. Once you reached the cave you were going to get some warmer cloths out. Suddenly you felt something wet going down your leg. "What the? Ah crap. Don't tell me I got a cut?" you thought out loud as you checked your leg; yep, it was bleeding all right and the cut was nasty too. You quickly got out some bandages and covered it as best you could. Another thing for you to do once you reached the cave was to clean that up before it got infected.  
You finally reached the cave after a while of searching. You quickly went inside and out of the wind. 'Finally! Found this stupid thing!' you thought, getting some wood for a fire. While you did this, it got dark and nastier outside.  
~After making dinner and everything~  
'Ouch! Stupid cut! Hopefully it will heal in a few days.' you thought to yourself as you got your bed stuff out and got comfy. You didn't like going to sleep without some sort of watch but you have no choice, you had to sleep in order to keep moving. As you slowly start to drift to sleep, your last thought was, 'I hope I find her soon. Please, Mich, be safe. I'm coming.'  
"Ahcoo! Brrrr! Stupid wind! Stupid snow! Why is it so DAMN COLD?!" You whined to yourself as you kept moving forward. It's been five days since you left the cave and it's already getting colder and snowing almost the entire time but somehow you stayed on track. For some strange reason nothing's been bothering you, you thought you saw a person a day or so ago but you couldn't be sure so you put it as your imagination. 'Almost there! Just a little further ahead and I can call it a day!' you tried to convince yourself as you climbed up the steep slope. You climbed slowly and carefully, trying not to worry about the nice drop waiting for you if you should slip and let go of the rock. Once you reached the top, you plopped down into waist deep snow. 'Aw man! Give me a break! Bad enough I have to worry about demons! Now I gotta worry about snow! ' You thought while trudging onward. Progress was slow considering you had to fight through snow and wind. Suddenly you slipped on something and you fell forward, sliding on your stomach all the way down. "NOT AGAIN!" You cried out as you were propelled onwards. Suddenly you went over an edge you didn't see and landed ungracefully into the snow bank. "Uuffff!" you exclaimed as your head popped up out of the bank with snow on your head. You frowned angrily and shook the snow off your head. 'Terrific. Just peachy. What else can happen?' was your last thought before something went plop on your head. You growled and shook the snow off, got up and continued to trudge through the snow. 'When I get home, I swear I'll never go camping again! I'll die a happy girl if I never see this much snow again!' you thought.


	3. Chapter 3

~Five days later~  
You let out a loud sneeze before wiping your nose and moving just to keep warm. 'Where's this other cave? It's suppose to be around here somewhere. Gah! Stupid map! I probably could be in it right now!' you think angrily as you move through the now waist snow. Just moving through the crap took half your strength, not to mention that you were losing time since a sudden snow storm picked up. 'Sure hope that damn thing's right! Hate to find out that I wasted my time on a damn wrong turn!' You shivered again and kept moving. You felt like going to sleep but right now it would kill you since you don't have any shelter at the moment. You went five feet before you fell forward. You suddenly snapped up again and shook yourself hard. 'No! I can't rest now! Shelter's only five miles away! ..moving.' you fell forward again but only this time you didn't get back up. You were half awaken when you felt a pair of warm strong arms pick you up and carry you. "Hn. Baka onna. Going into a blizzard like that. At this rate you'll kill yourself if I don't step in." you heard a mans voice say before oblivion takes you into it's embrace.  
(okay, here's what's going on: I'm gonna tell you how you ended up in this mess in the first place, after that I'm moving onward with the story)  
You were walking home when you heard a voice call out, "Hey, Sammy! Wait for mmmmeeeee!" You stop and turned around to see Michelle running down the street trying to catch up to you. When she finally reached you, you smiled and said, "Hi Mich. What's up?" She smiled and replied, "Nothing much! Just wanted to catch and harass you for a while before I have to go work." You shook your head at her and started to walk towards your house. "How's your boy-toy doing?" Michelle asked you before she went, "Oh! That's right! You don't HAVE one!" You let out a silent sigh as she went on, "You need to get a boyfriend, Sam! Living alone like you are isn't healthy! Your, what?, 18 and STILL no boyfriend!" You sighed and said, "I just haven't found the right guy. I'm not gonna just JUMP into a relationship just for the heck of it you know." She sighed and continued, "I know but we've been friends since kindergarten and all that time still no one!" "Your forgetting JJ, Mich." you pointed out as you guys come up to your house. She growled and said angrily, "THAT doesn't count! He didn't DESERVE even one SECOND of your time! I still can't figure out why you even went out with him; even if it was for that one time only." You smiled and said, "I thought he was cute and nice so I figured I'd give it a shot. How was I to know that he was a two-bit man-whore who already had a girlfriend?" She frowned and said, "Point taken but still, you can't let THAT hold you down!" Michelle pumped her fist in the air dramatically while saying, "I WILL find you a guy even if it takes me the rest of my life! There's no way in hell am I letting MY best friend who I've known since preschool and kindergarten be alone!" You laughed at her actions. She turned to you and said with a smile, "I know I'm being dramatic and all but I hate to see you all alone. I want you to be happy with someone. Like I'm happy with Jason." You frowned at her boyfriend's name. She scowled at your face before saying, "Don't tell me you still don't trust him?!" "I do but every time he's around, I get a weird vibe, like something's wrong." Mich pouted and said, "Your just jealous cause we spend so much time together that we don't even get to go shopping like we use to." You shook your head again and replied, "It's not that. It's justthat I can't fully trust him. And I don't care what you say: always be on guard when you're around him; don't let love blind you to his faults." She sighed and nodded before saying, "I gotta take off. See ya later, Reeses-Pieces!" You growled after her while she took off laughing, "Stop calling me that! God! Just let the joke DIE already!"  
~3 months later~  
You were relaxing in your apartment, studying for an exam you had at the college the next day when you got a phone call. "Lo?" you answered. "Hey Sam." you heard Mich's voice say from the other end. "Hi Michelle. What's up?" "Um, could you please come over? I really need someone to talk to right now." You put your book for a second before replying, "Sorry, can't. I'm studying to get into that nice med school." "You are? You actually made it in?! That's great!" You laughed and said, "Not yet. I'm suppose to take entrance exams in the morning so I figured some studying now and last minute will help me out." She laughed at that. "Always the daring one, aren't we?" You shrugged but said, "Nah, just using good luck and sheer will to pass." "Anyway, could you take a break please? I really need you." You sighed and said, "Okay, fine. What did you want to talk about?" Pause. "Mich? You there?" You were just about to panic when she said, "I don't want to talk over the phone. Please. It's important." You sighed and gave in. "All right. I'll be there in five. DON'T go anywhere." "Believe me! I won't!" she said and hung the phone up. You shook your head and grabbed your shoes and went out the door. When you reached her house, she didn't even give you a chance to knock before she whipped open the door and said, "Thank god you came!" You noticed that she wasn't herself; usually she always had her cloths neat and tidy but now they were disarranged. Immediately you asked, "What happened?! Did that bastard Jason do something to you!? If he did, I swear to god I'll kill him!" But she shook her head and said, "No! He didn't do anything to me!" You were confused as she let you in and brought you to the couch. "If he didnt do anything, then what's wrong? Usually you're happy-go-lucky, but now, you're worried about something." She didn't say anything for five minutes before she said softly, "I'm pregnant." You stared at her. "Huh? I'm sorry but could you repeat that again? I thought you said you were pregnant." She nodded. You jumped up. "You're kidding?! Oh wow! You're gonna have a baby?! Wow! How far along are you?!" "Babies." "Huh?" you went before she continued with her face away from you. "Babies. I'm a month along." "If you're that far along how come you didnt tell me? I thought I was your friend?" you said, hurt that she didnt tell you sooner. She took a deep breathe before saying, "I did. I just found out yesterday when I went to the doctors since I haven't been feeling good lately." "Oh." was all you said before going on. "But where's Jason? He should be here with you." At his name Michelle started crying. "He...left.." You stared at her. "What do you mean "he left"? He better not have.." "Well he did the moment I told him." You hugged her and said, "Don't worry about that loser now. I'll help you, you won't go through this alone." "*sniff* I know...but still, I wanted him here with me." 'She's taking this well.' you thought as she cried. 'When I see that loser I'm gonna pound him into the ground.' Suddenly what she said earlier caught your attention. "You said "babies". You having twins?" She pulled away and smiled, "Better: Triplets." You gawked at her before saying, "Triplets?! Oh my god girl! You should be panicking right now!" She laughed and said, "Nah, this I was prepared for. Triplets run in the family."  
~Next day~  
"Michelle? You home? I got my stuff with me so I can move in! Come on! I forgot my key! Pwease let me in!" You called out as you knock on the door, much to your surprise it opened easily. "Mich?" you called out with a dropping stomach. "Mich? Mich!" You went in to find the house was trashed. 'OMG! Mich!' you thought as you ran through the house, looking for her. Much to your dismay, there was no sign of her anywhere in the house. 'Where is she?! What the hell happened?!' you thought before noticing some weird looking hole in the wall. 'What the..What the heck is that?' Suddenly you heard voices heading up to the house and you quickly hid in the staircase closet. "Damn. Looks like we were too late." you heard a voice say as the footsteps come into the house. "Crap. You're right. Isaac got the girl." 'Isaac? Who's Isaac?' "*sigh* Now what? We go tell Koenma we lost the girl?" "What?! No way! We're already on our last leg! If we tell him that we let the demon have the girl we're toast! He'll send the Dectectives from Japan after us!" "True, true." and the voices left. You opened the door with a confused look on your face. 'Demons? Koenma? Dectective? What the hell is going on?'  
~Three weeks later~  
'Ugh! I hate flying!' you thought as you sunk into your seat. You were flying out to Japan. From what you've found out, the trail goes there. You were still in shock that demons actually existed and they wanted Michelle for some reason because this Isaac wanted her.


	4. Chapter 4

You woke up with a start. Your head hurt like crazy and your body felt like lead. 'Oooooh man oh man. I ache all over!' You noticed that you were covered with blankets and laying next to a warm fire. You looked around and noticed that you were in the cave you were trying to get to. "Huh? How'd I get here?" you thought aloud when a voice said, "Hn. You're one crazy baka onna; going into a blizzard like that." You turned towards the entrance and noticed that it was the guy from earlier sitting down. You slowly sat up but had to lay back down. "Ooooh my head! It hurts to even think!" You heard footsteps and saw that the guy moved closer to the fire. He said, "What did you expect? You've been travling for a while in the cold. You didn't have the brains enough to wait until the weathered cleared enough to traval." You glared at him while he glared right back. "I told you before: I don't have time to spare. I must continue on with my mission." He looked away and closed his eyes. "I know that already." He didn't say anything after that so when he asked you, "Who's Mich?" it caught you off guard. Your face clearly read surprised so he said, "You said this person's name while you slept." Your eyes widen before you closed them. "Aw man. How much did I say?" "Not much. Just kept repeating his name along some Isaac." You groaned. "Mich is my friend who's been kidnapped from her home. Isaac's the one who took her." "Hn. I take it that this Isaac's a demon?" You nodded and started to feel sleepy. "You've got guts, I'll give you that but you shouldn't have come into the Makii like that." "I know but my time's short. I have...to...find...her...before...babies...born.." you drifted off to sleep in mid-sentence. He looked over and saw you were fast asleep. He shook his head. What you just told him gave him some new thoughts.  
~Next day~  
You woke up to find that it was clear and sunny from what you could see. "Thank god! I don't think I can handle another snow storm." you said to yourself as you got up and stretched a bit before you went food hunting and dug up something edible. As you ate, you noticed that the guy was gone. Again. You sighed and thought, 'Guess he took off. Wonder why he helped me?' "Because I was getting bored with seeing you struggle just to climb up a hill." You heard him say. You whipped around to find him standing at the mouth of the cave. "Get everything packed, we're leaving." With that, he lefted again. "Hey! Wait! Who said you could come along?!" you called after him while quickly packing everything up. You quickly brushed your teeth and hair as you left the cave. You looked around, trying to find the guy, when you noticed that you were further then you thought. 'Wow. I'm making good time! I thought I was further away than I orginally thought!' you thought happily as you took out the trusty map and marked your progess. "What is that? A map?" You nodded. "Of what? The Makii?" Another nod. He sighed and said, "Hn. Having a map of the Makii is useless. It doesn't tell you where everything is." You shurgged and said, "It got me this far." You put it away and continued walking with your male companion. Every once in a while you had to stop to take a breather, clearly not strong enough for the long hike. "Hn. Baka onna. Maybe it was a mistake to take you out so soon. Hate to have to carry you again." You glared at him and said, "My name's NOT Baka Onna. It's Samantha, or Sam." He didn't say anything. After walking for five hours straight it began to get dark again. You sighed and thought, 'Where's that damn cave? Thought the map said it would be around here somewhere.' "Hn. It's not for another twenty miles to the next one." You gawked at him before demanding, "How'd you know?! Oh no! Don't tell me your a telepath!?" He smirked and continued on. You sighed. After another hour of silence you asked, "Could you tell me your name, please? Don't really feel like calling you, "Hey man" or Hey guy" or something." No answer, much to your big surprise. You shook your head before he said, "Hiei." You blinked and nodded. "Wow. An answer up front. I thought I was going to have to play twenty questions just to get an answer." He glanced at you for a second before asking, "What do you mean?" "Almost every demon I meet I have to play twenty questions before I get the answer I'm looking for."  
He didn't say anything, just kepy walking. Sometimes you had to struggle just to keep up with him.  
~5 days later~  
"According to the map, in a day or two we'll be off the mountain just as soon as we pass a certain peak." you told Hiei, who merely ignored you yet again. You've gotten used to that, along with him going, "Hn." every time you said something. You doubted he even heard you when you say anything to him. As you kept walking, you suddenly noticed that the peak you were supposed to past was coming into view. You smirked in triumph when it got closer. "Once we pass this thing we'll be somewhere near the border of the southern part of Makii." As usual, he said nothing. You sighed and shook your head when he asked, "Why would you do this for her? I mean, not every ningen would do that for anyone, not even for family." You sent daggers at him and growled, "I'm doing this because she's my FRIEND, I won't leave her to save my own skin. Besides, " you ignore him and said coldly, "why are you even here anyway? It's not like I'm asking you for help."  
He simply shrugged and replied, "No particular reason." You sent him a glare again before just going back to thinking.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come ON, you baka no onna! You want to reach that stupid peak you're going to have to get MOVING!" Hiei yelled at you as you guys climbed up the peak. He was at the top already, "cheering" you on since you were somewhat close to the top. You glared up at him as you climbed. "Stop calling me Onna! I may be one but it's not my name! It's Sam!" "Hn. I don't care what you're name is, just get moving. I don't want to be here all day waiting for a slow poke like you. At this you growled and climbed faster until you reached the top. You growled at him as you climbed over the ledge, "You're a jerk, you know that?!" He smirked at you and turned away. "Hey! Some help would be nice considering I'm carrying a heavy back-pack here!" He walked away from you. You glared daggers at him. When you finally got on top, you stormed over to him and demanded, "Why are you being such an ass!? Do you ENJOY being one?!" Hiei smirked and replied, "No. I just like annoying you." You gaped at him and growled, "You're the biggest PAIN in my ass I have ever met!" You thought for a second before saying, "I take that back. You're not big," you smirked back "you're a shrimp considering I'm TALLER then you." He glared at you as you laughed at him and quickly moved away from him. "What? Don't like being called short, "shrimp"?" Hiei snapped at you, "If you value you're life you'll STOP calling me short!" You giggled a bit as you said, "Okay...Shrimp." You took off like a bullet away from the death glare he was giving you. You finally stop running when you reached the bottom of the peak. "Man! *huff* What a *wheeze* sour brat! *huff*!" You exclaimed as you waited for him. "Hn. Nor am I a brat, either." You jumped a foot into the air as you heard and see him come out of nowhere. "Huh?! Wha?! How?! How'd you get down here so fast?!" He smirked cockily and walked away from you. You sighed and thought, "This is so much fun. I'm in the demon world with a demon who enjoys poking fun at me. Not to mention rude and a cold bastard." You slowly take off your coat and stuff you used to keep warm as you tracked over the mountains and stuff them into the bag. "Let's see...the border for the Southern half of the Makii should be showing up any time now if I'm reading the map right." you told Hiei. He didn't answer (shockingly). You shook your head and put the map away. "We just passed it." Hiei suddenly said out of the blue. You look at him in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?" "Hn. Baka no onna. We just entered the lower half of the Makii." "Oh. Cool!3 That means I'm getting closer to finding my friend and getting out of here." "Hn." (AGGGGGHHHHH! STOP DOING THAT! Hiei:*smirks evilly* Hn. Me:ARG!)  
After walking for a couple of hours the nearby surroundings began to change into tropical plants. Which, of course, you stayed away from and moved closer to Hiei. "Grrrrr. Don't walk so close to me! These plants aren't going to attack you!" "I don't care! I've had enough of being chased by them!" He growled and stormed ahead. "Hey! Wait!" you called after him. Just as you moved to follow him, you felt something slither around your feet and made you fall foreward landing on your face. "Offf! Ow! What the hell?" you said as you turned to kick the offending object off of you. Much to your horror, it was not a plant but a demon who had you. "Grrr! Letgo, damnit!" "Onna! What's keeping you?" You heard Hiei say from somewhere ahead of you. Before you can reply, a hand covered your mouth and a voice whispered in your ear, "We've come with a message for you: if you value your life stop looking for thr girl. Or else." You bit the hand and said, "Where is she?! She better be safe you sick ass bastards!" Hiei suddenly appeared in front of you guys. "Can't you stay out of trouble for even FIVE minutes?" He asked in a bored tone. You growled at him but before you could say anything the demon holding you demanded, "Who are you? We weren't told about her traveling with a demon!" Hiei gave them a bored look and said, "Hn. That's none of your business." He vanished. "Huh?! Where'd he go?!" the demon asked before you heard a soft "swoosh" and the demon went "Arck!" "Now then, tell me what I want to know." Hiei asked coldly as the demon abruptly released you. You scooted away from him to find Hiei behind him with a katana right above his head, just a millimetter above his head. Hiei smirked coldly and demanded, "What does this demon, "Isaac", want with a bunch of ningens?" The demon started to slightly pour sweat as he ansered, "I don't know. I was only ordered to tell this one to stop what she's doing and if she should continue she'll die." Hiei gave him a bored look still. "I believe that the human he has is pregnant. Why does he want a onna with child? To eat her and the baby?" "I don't know! I'm not told everything! I was just falling orders! I don't know anything!" Hiei smirked again and said, "If you know nothing, why are you panicing?" "Wait! Tell me where Mich is?! Where is she?!" You demanded. The demon smirked and said nastily, "Wouldn't you like to know?" You growled. Hiei sighed and said, "Answer her question. Better be fast while I'm still in the talking mood." "No! I can't! He'll kill me... "I'LL kill you if you don't answer!" Hiei snapped at him. The demon shrinked back and stammered out, "Isaac's hide-out is in a temple somewhere. About 300 hundred miles from here! I told you already! Let me go!" You and Hiei looked at each other for a second before saying, "I think you're coming with us." Suddenly he smirked again and SANK into the ground. "What the hell?! Not again!" you muttered as you quickly got up and started looking around. Suddenly Hiei disappeared again and the next second a scream was heard. You looked at Hiei as he walked back. He shrugged his shoulders at you as he went past. 'I'm in for fun times, aren't I?'  
"It's going to be dark soon. We probably should find a campsite." Hiei said. You look at him in shock. "I can't believe what I'm hearing! Usually I'm the one who says let's look for a place to stay. What's up?" "I can't have you passing out from lack of sleep." You glare at him and grumbled a bit as you did a quick map check. "He said 500 miles from here, right? But in which direction? He also said something about a temple, right?" You thought out loud. Hiei growled at you. "Baka onna. Think to yourself! No need to feel the need to tell EVERYTHING!" You snap at him, "Sorree! Just trying to figure out what direction to go in. South? East? We should have gotten that from him before you killed him." "Hn. If I'm remembering correctly there's a temple somewhere in the West from where we're heading." "You know where it is then? Good. I guess you're useful to have around then." He glared at you again.  
~At camp~  
"Don't tell me I lost it!" you muttered to yourself as you practically rip your bag apart. Hiei came back from gathering wood. (Me:WOW! He can do that?! Hiei:Baka onna! Me:I know you are but what I am!) He gave you a weird look as he watched you dump what's left of the contents onto the ground. "Where is IT?! I just had it earilier!" you growled as you check and recheck the usual places. "Just WHAT are you looking for, onna?" "The map! It's gone! I had it earilier and now it's gone!" "Oh. That. I threw it into the fire earilier when you went into the woods." You gapped at him. "You, you THREW it into the fire?! Why?! What were you thinking?! You know how LONG it took me to get on my hands on it?! "Hn. It was useless and I know where we're going so I got rid of it." You growled at him and yelled, "You IDIOT! WHAT HAPPENS IF WE GET SEPERATED?! HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO FIND MY WAY OUT OF HERE?!" He growled and yelled back, "LOOK, BAKA NO ONNA! YOU NEED HELP! I SERIOUSLY DOUBT FOR ONE MINUTE YOU'LL LAST OUT HERE!" "OH PLEASE! I WAS DOING JUST FINE BEFORE YOU SHOWED UP!" "YOU CALL GOING INTO A BLIZZARD FINE?! YOU WERE HALF DEAD WHEN I FOUND YOU!" "WAS NOT!" "WAS TOO!" "NOT!" "TOO!" "NOTNOTNOTNOT!" "FINE! WHATEVER!" Hiei exclaimed as he stormed away from you. You growled and angrily muttered to yourself as you repack some of the stuff back into the bag. After eating, you crawl on top of the sleeping bag. You start to wonder if you were ever going to find Michelle. Before you knew it you fell fast asleep.  
Hiei came out of hiding and sat next to the fire. 'Hn. Onna, what have you gotten yourself into?'


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you SURE you know where we're going, Hiei? Feels like we've been walking in circles." "Grrr. STOP asking me! I told you five times already! YES I know where it's at! YES I know where we're going! I swear if you ask me one more time, I'll leave you here to face demons on your own!" You glared at him. "Fine! I won't ask you anything again for the rest of the day!" "Fine by me! I'm getting sick of hearing you spatter nothings all day!" You growled and stormed ahead of him. 'Ooooo! Of all the NERVE! Who the HELL died and left HIM in charge?!' you thought angrily to yourself as you stormed away. 'Bah! Men! Who needs them?!' Suddenly you tripped over a tree root and fell face first. Again. "Onna! Watch where you're going!" Hiei growled at you as he went by. You shot your head up to glare at him. "Haven't you tried to be nice, oh, I don't know, for a minute?! Like maybe long enough to ask me if I'm okay?!" You demanded at him. "Hn. Why? You're not bleeding nor are you missing any limbs." You growled and crossed your arms. "You're a real jerk, you know that right?!" "When I care about what you think, I'll let you know. Besides, it seems to me all you know how to do is get into trouble." Hiei replied in a bored tone. "How dare you?!" You started as you stormed over to him but, yet again, you trip over the same root. The only difference is that Hiei was in front of you and he caught you. You lifted your head up to say something but instead your lips ended up meeting his. You blush a bright red and stay where you are before quickly moving away. "I'msosorry!Thatwasanaccident!" you say in a rush before moving foreward again. Unknown to you, however, you left Hiei still stunned to the spot he was standing at. It wasn't until you were pretty far from him when you noticed and called out, "Hey Hiei! Get moving slow poke! We've still got distance to cover!" "Hn. Who you calling a slow poke?" Hiei said in a bored tone. You blinked sereval times before moving again. '*sigh* He's unbelieveable. How does this guy work? He's always so rude, pain in the ass and a good kisser.' That made you stop in mid-thought. 'What am I thinking?! It was a complete and total accident!' You quietly check him out but caught yourself before he saw. '*sigh* What am I going to do?'  
~Five days later~  
"Onna, better be prepared. The temple will be within a few miles of us in a few days or so." Hiei suddenly said out of the blue. For the first two days after you accidently kissed he pretty muched stayed away from and the rest he said less then what he normally did before. "So we're only a couple days away from the temple?! Cool! I hope she's doing okay!" You excitedly. He raised an eyebrow before going on, "I've been meaning to ask you something." "Hm?" "How far along is Mich along in her pregnacy?" At this you stopped walking. "I..think maybe she's four months along." He let out a sigh before replying, "Then that means we only have 5 more months to find her." You nodded grimly. "I know. If we don't find her soon who knows what will happen to her and the babies." ""Babies"? She's having twins?" "Nope. Triplets." Now it was Hiei's turn to stop. You turn to look at him. "What? What is it?" "Twins wouldn't be hard to find but triplets? We better hurry and find her. Otherwise we'll be looking for FOUR people instead of one." You nodded. "Right. Wait." He turned to look at you now. "Now what?" "You said "we". That means you're going to continue to help me?" "Hn. Yes." "But what if I have to leave the Makii?" "So? Guess I'll have to go with you." "But why?" For that he had no answer and started to walk away from you. You look after him quizzly before following him. After walking for a couple of hours you guys stop to make/get something to eat since Hiei liked to go find his own meals, leaving you to eat from whatever you found in the pack. You let out a sigh before leaning back against a tree. 'Mich...I hope you're alright. I'm trying to hurry as fast as I can.' You start to remember all the good times you and her had had through all your years. "Onna, how can you be so up-beat about finding your friend? Aren't you worried that she may already be dead?" Hiei asked you. You look up to see him standing on a branch upabove you. You met his gorgeous red eyes before looking forward again. "No. I'm not worried. I'm more than sure she's alive. I'll find her again."  
Hiei jumped down next to you. "How can you be so positive? Most would be worried about them silly. Or wouldn't even bother looking for them." You sigh and reply, "I just am. For the recorded, just because some would leave others to whatever fate gave them doesn't mean all others are like that." At that you got up and grabbed your pack and began walking in the direction you've become famailer with.


	7. Chapter 7

"*sighs* How much further?" You ask as you follow Hiei into the jungle. Hiei growled angrily, "Onna, I'm warning you; STOP asking me. If I were I would TAKE my advice, normally I don't give warnings but I'm not in the mood to hit someone." You growled back, "I just want to know how far away from the temple we are! God! I want to know if we should be looking for it or if we to go search for or or something!" "Onna.." "Stop calling me that! My name's Sam!" "Onna..." "It's Sam!" Hiei grabbed your face and turned it to the right. Your jaw dropped..for what was the temple. It wasn't as big as you orginal thought before; it was roughly the size of a chruch but only instead of crossing it had some weird looking statues. At first glance they look like lions but instead of manes they had snakes and look down right scary. You feel a shiver go down your spine but ignored it. "This it?" "Hn. Yes." You were about to go forward when Hiei suddenly stopped you. You look at him quizzly. "What?" "You better wait out here." "Huh? Why?" Hiei moved away from you and went towards the temple while saying, "You'll only be in the way." You growled after him and stormed up to him. "Look you! I don't care! I don't care what happens to me! I want to save my friend and go back home and away from this damn nightmare!" You storm away and into the temple. You stop just before going through some doors and said quietly, "Besides, you need me. Otherwise I don't think Mich would let you even touch her." You didn't get a chance to hear his reply for suddenly the doors slam shut. Just before they did you whipped around to see them shut on a surprised Hiei with an even more surprised look on your face. "HIEI!" You called out as the doors slam shut. "NO! DAMNIT! OPEN UP YOU STUPID PAIN IN THE ASS!" You growled at it as you kick and try to pry it open.  
"Well look who it is, it's Miss Samantha." said a chilly voice from behind. You slowly turn around, to see the one man who's been the cause of this whole damn mess: Isaac.

You snarl and growled. "Isaac." He smiled cutely at you. "Sam. It's been a while! How are you? I hope the Makii's been treating you decent." You snarl at his small talk. "Where's Mich?! Where is she?! Tell me!" Isaac's smile turned cold as he said, "Mich? Oh. You must mean Michelle. Yes. She's alright. She's been getting the royal treatment." "Where is she?!" was all the chance you got to say before you were knocked out. The last thing you heard was, "You should have taken my message, little fool. Throw her into the lower dungeon."  
Hiei's POV  
'Damn it! Stupid onna! Trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes!' you thought angrily as you began to quickly look around for another entrance. You knew there was another one but couldn't remember where it was. '*sigh* Why didn't she listen to me? Tch. She's probably in trouble yet again.' Although you were angry at her for not listening to you, you were very worried about her saftey for some reason. You haven't known her that long and you were already worried about her. This irrated you for some reason. 'Where is it?' you thought again but suddenly something caught your eye. You smirk and quickly went over to some bushes to find an entrance that was half covered. You quickly and quietly slip through and into the temple.  
Your POV  
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh my head." you mumbled as you wake up to a pounding head. Everything came back to you when you notice your in some dark and danky cell. 'I can't believe it!' you fume angrily. 'I let that sneaky bastard get the drop on me! How could I do that?! Doesn't matter now. Now I defintely know Mich is here.' you thought happily but you didn't let yourself get too excited; you were still chained to the wall and who knows how far you are from your friend.  
'I hate to say this but I really wish Hiei was here.' you thought to yourself as you surveyed to find something to at least use to pick at the locks. 'I'm more then sure he's pretty good at getting out of these kind of situations.' Suddenly you heard someone heading your way. The door opened and much to your annonce was the one person you REALLY didn't want to see. Isaac came into the room and took a seat next to you. You growled and scooted away from him. He let out a dramatic sigh and ask quietly, "Why are you are? You were warned not to come yet you still? Why? She mean that much to you?" You growl at him and replied, "You already know WHY I'm here! I would NEVER leaver her or the kids with YOU!" "I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me. Of course, you'd know that if you didn't keep pushing me away. YET again." You hissed at him, "I never liked you BEFORE I found out who you really are! A murderer! A monster who likes to toy with people before you stab them in the back! Give her and her kids back to me and I won't hurt you!" At this Isaac let out a laugh and said, "You? Hurt ME? Ha! Please! You may be spiritedly gifted but you're no match for me. Neither is your demon friend." You started at this. "Leave him out of this! Hiei has nothing to do with this!" "Hiei? Interesting." He turned towards you and stood up. "Well, as mush as I want to stay and chitchat with you. I have things to do and things to plan." He started to walk away. "Wait! At least tell me why you want the children!" But he ignored you and kept walking. "ARGH! BASTARD! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU HURT THEM!" Suddenly he took out some powder and threw it out you. It make you cough and sneeze. After a few seconds you were knocked out again.


	8. Chapter 8

You were lost in some dark place, trying to figure out how you got there and how to get out. "Sam.." you heard a voice say from far away. "Hello? Who's there?" you called out as the voice got louder. "Sam..!" You slowly felt yourself wake up. "Sam! Wake up! This isn't the place for a nap, baka onna! Wake up!" You mumble incoherently and turn away. You hear someone growl and say angrily to you, "Sam. WAKE UP NOW or ELSE!" At your name your eyes shot open to find Hiei kneeling next to you with a somewhat relieved expression on his face. You gawked at him in shock and said in a surprised voice, "You said my name." He gave you a "No Duh" look and stood up. "C'omon. Get up. I think I looked your friend in the center of this place. If we don't move fast we might miss her." You quicklt stood up but ended up falling back down, feeling very light headed. "Ooooh. Can't do THAT again." You quietly mutter to yourself as you stand up again and start to follow Hiei. "How'd you get in?" He shrugged. "Found another entrance." "So where's the center of this place? Is it far?" "Onna..." Hiei growled warningly. You stop asking questions, not in the mood for another argument. The was pretty poorly lit so you couldn't tell if or what the engravings on them looked like. You start to look for some set of doors after noticing for a while that as you guys been walking...nothing's been coming up; no guards, no doors, not even some sort of trap. "Hiei...what's going on? Where are the guards?" He didn't answer. "Hiei?" You asked questioningly when he suddenly stopped and vanished. "Hiei!? Come on! This isn't funny! Hiei! Where are you?!" You start to yell out as you quickly try to search in vain for him. Suddenly a door appeared to your left and you opened it without a second thought. Much to your relief Michelle was in there. "Mich!" You cried out in relief. Just as you were about to run over to her when she said coldly, "What the hell are you doing here? You're too late." You stop dead cold right where you were standing. "What? What are you talking about?" In answer she moved her hands away from her stomach and showed you were it used to be. You felt violently ill at the sight and shook your head. "No...no...no. No. NO!" You screamed at her. "SAM! Wake up! It's alright! Sam!" At the sound of your name you jolt up right. The first thing you see is Hiei kneeling next to you and the next second you feel him pull you into a tight hug. You blush slightly and stammer out, "H-h-hiei?" "Can't you stay out of trouble for five minutes, onna?" He said in a relieved tone. You growled angrily and moved away to glare at him. "Stop calling me Onna!" You stop yelling at him as you realized something. "Holy moley you used my NAME!" Now it was his turn to glare at you. "Hmph. Next time get YOURSELF out of a nightmare." He got up and stormed away from. 'Wait. It was all a nasty dream then?' you think in relief as you stood up and follow him.  
"How'd you get in here? I thought the doors closed after I stepped through?" "Found another entrance. What? You thought I couldn't find a way in? Hn. You know NOTHING." You glared at him. "Jeez. I was just asking. God! Why do you enjoy being an ass?" He growled at you again and replied, "Shut up! I think I know where your friend is." Your eyes perk up at this. "Really?! Where?!" "Hn. I think she's in the top floor of this place." "Huh? What makes you think she be up there?" "It's the most secured location of this entire place. I place a bet that she's there." "I hope so."'Mich...hang on. I'm coming. Please be alright.' You keep moving, crossing your fingers mentally that you wouldn't run into any sort of guards. No such luck cause just as you were about to turn a corner Hiei suddenly stopped and dashed into a deep indent in the wall and grabbed you as you went past. "Hiei!? What are you d." but he quickly covered your mouth and pulled you REALLY close to him, making you blush. Two guards walk past you without checking the indent. When they past, Hiei released you and you slowly moved away, using the movement to check to see if any more were coming.  
"Come on. Let's move!" Hiei demanded as he continued to go forward without you. You catch up. "Hey. Hiei. How'd you know that the demon's name was Isaac? I don't remember telling you his name." "Hn. None of your business. We're almost there." You nod and follow close behind.


	9. Chapter 9

"Just how FAR is that staircase, Hiei?! Jeez! You shouldn't have thrown that map away!" You mumble under your breath. "Stop your muttering. If you have nothing useful to say then say it. Otherwise be quiet." Hiei said in a bored tone. You made a face at him. He suddenly made a stop in front of you, almost making you crash into him. "Why'd you st.." You started before being cut off by Hiei. "In there." He said while pointing at a door just down the hall. You look at it and him before saying, "How do you know?" "Hn. Fine. DON'T believe me." "Hrm. I'm not saying that. I just want to know for sure." "Look. We can stay here all day arguing or we can go check." Was all he got to say before you quickly and quietly made a dash for it. He appeared in front of you and growled. "Onna..How many times MUST you get into trouble in one day?!" "Sorry but.." You got cut off by Isaac saying, "I was wondering WHEN you and your demon friend to show up." You skidded to a stop before almost running into Isaac who had conveniently placed himself between you and the door. He smiled at you before saying, "Sammy. I see you can still run good. Maybe we can race some time before you die?" Hiei said to him in a bored tone still. "You must be this Isaac that I've been hearing about." Isaac looked at him. "Ah. And you might be..." "Hn. Who I am is none of your business." He unsheathed his katana. "Now then, tell me what you had planned for the pregnant onna before I kill you." At that Isaac laughed and said, "That is none of your business but I am curious; what's a demon doing traveling with a human? Demons usually attack ningens and do all sort of NASTY little things to them." Hiei gave him his famous glare and replied coldly, "Also none of your business." Hiei disappeared again. Isaac raised an eyebrow before saying, "A teleporter, eh?" You, meanwhile, was trying to sneak around him while he was talking to Hiei. "Nice try, Sam, bur no cigar." Isaac said as he faced you again. You stop moving and glared at him. "Why are you doing this?! Screw it! I don't care! I WANT my friend back!" He smirked and was about to reply when he suddenly made a dodge to the right. "Nice try..Hiei, was it?, but you need to be a little quicker then that." Hiei growled and said telepathically to you, 'Onna, get to the door. I'll be behind shortly.' You give him a slight nod and took off towards the door. It felt like forever but you reached it and opened it. You nearly cried in despair when you saw what was inside the room. Isaac smiled while holding a passed out Michelle in his arms. You growled and demanded, "How did you get in here so fast?! Let her go!" Isaac smiled as a portal opened up behind him. "Catch you later, Sammy. Tell your friend I said hi when he's done playing with my shadow."  
"MICH! NO!" You scream as you try to run to them but Isaac already step backwards into the portal. It closed right on your face. You walk up to the wall and leaned your head on it. "No. No. I was so close." You whispered sadly as you slowly pound your hand into the hall. "I'm sorry Mich. I'm so sorry." You heard someone clear their throat behind you, startling you. You whipped around to find Hiei standing in the doorway. You sigh and said quietly, "She was just here...and I couldn't even get close." He looked at you as you walk close and right past him. "Don't worry. You'll have another opportunity again." Hiei suddenly said to you. You nodded. "I know. I'm not worried. But...it's just that now we have no idea where they went. Or even if their still in the Makii." He sighed and replied, "Their still in the Makii. I believe I got lead..if that shadow clone spoke the truth." You turn around and stared at him. "What do you mean?" "He told me right before he...met his death. He said to go further south." You smile and shook your head. "What? What are you smiling about?" "Nothing. At least we have something to go on. Come on. We got a long way ahead of us and we're not even close."


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, Hiei?" He growled at you. "What is it now?!" You glared at him. "Hey! That's the first time I said anything for a long while! Don't be yelling at me!" "If you didn't keep asking questions I wouldn't be so irritated at the sound of your voice!" "Welllll exxxxxccccccccccuuuuuussssssssseeeeee me! If you hadn't thrown AWAY MY MAP I wouldn't keep asking what's in front of us!" It's been two days since you left the temple and started going deeper in the south of the Makii. Oh, the joy of it. You've been asking Hiei what's the terrin like but he's been grouchy ever since he defeated the shadow clone of Isaac. Not that you can blame him, you wouldn't mind a go at him yourself but there's a time and place for that. "I told you a thousand times now! That MAP was useless! What you should have had in the first place was a guide!" "Oh really?! Gee, why didn't I think of that? Oh wait. Maybe it's because the inhabitants are DEMONS who keep trying to KILL me!" Hiei growled again and was about to say something when you said, "Never mind! Forget I asked! God!" After the newest spat between you two you did your best to stay away from him but not too far to were you can't see him. 'He's such a pain! Why did I even let him come with me?! Oh wait. I didn't. HE invited HIMSELF along for the ride!' You send another glare at him. Your mind slowly started to think about the accidental "kiss" and when he was close to you. The next thing you know you slowly start to fantasize about him. Immediately you shook your head to rid yourself of those thoughts and the nice image you had started. 'Gah! What the hell is wrong with me?! Snap out of it Sammy! At the moment you don't have time to think about guys!' You did a mental sigh as you thought, 'Too bad, though. He's pretty cute.' At that thought you smacked yourself. 'Bad Sammy! Bad! Gah! What's WRONG with me?!' You quickly noticed that Hiei had somehow gotten ahead of you. You wanted to call after him but instead sped up and found him quickly. Last time you yelled anything you had got a band of demons after you. (QT:When did that happen? Me:Remember the begining of the story?) "Hn. If I remember correctly there's a hot spring within three days of us if we keep this pace." You immdediately said, "Really?! Yes! A bath! I can finally take a ba-wait." You looked at him. "Last time I even THOUGHT about bathing, I almost became some fish demon's toy. Are there any living things IN the spring?" He gave you a bored look. "If there was, I wouldn't have mentioned it." At that you felt a little silly but, hey, it never hurt to ask. Considering WHO you're asking, well, getting pain for the question was likely probable. As the day wore on you keep wondering if you ever going to find Mich again.

'If I remember correctly, she looked pretty good..considering she's about three, no, four months along. Man. Can't believe she's four months just today.' You clutch your fist. 'I swear on everything holy, I'll find her before she has those kids.' You sigh silently yet again but said nothing. You glance again at Hiei. 'I wonder why he's helping me for real. I mean, I don't really know him and for all I know he might be leading me to my death.' At that you let out a silent laugh. 'I don't believe so. There were PLENTY of opportunities for him to off me but still; should I trust him completely?' "Grrrrr. Onna..." Hiei glared warningly. You glared at him. "What?! I didn't say something!" "You're THINKING too loud! AGAIN! When we camp tonight I'm teaching you how to put up a mind shield because your thoughts are ANNOYING me!" You glared at him before realizing what he said. "Y-y-you mean you've been hearing my thoughts?! Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?! OMG! How much did you hear?!" "The part where you thought I'm toying with you!" You sweatdrop nervously at that. "Errr..sorry but considering last time I trusted someone on this journey I nearly got my hand chopped off." He looked at you and sighed. "Hn. Whatever. I'm still teaching you." You shrug, giving up the fight cause you weren't in the mood. Not to mention slightly embarrassed considering you didn't know how much he "overheard" on your thoughts. You'd die of mortification if he got a whiff of your little "thoughts" about him. He made a abrupt stop in front of you and said, "We'll camp here for now." You look around and saw the area was completely sheltered from weather and wasn't too noticeable to attract unwanted attention. "Nice place to camp." was all you said and got set to work. After making dinner and getting your bed already. (you learned that setting up a tent only calls more attention then just using blankets) You took a sit and looked at Hiei. "Hn. I take it you want to start training on the shields?" You nod. He sighed and got in front of you and sat down.

~Three hours later and a lot of arguing later~

"ARGH! This is STUPID!" You growled angrily. You thought you had the basics down on how to set up a shield but found out Hiei could still hear your thoughts...except that they were only SLIGHTLY quieter then before. "Be quiet, Sam! Your whining is getting on my nerves!" You stared at him in shock. Hiei gave you an irritated look. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?" "You said my name." You said blankly. He blinked for a few seconds before getting up and moving away from you. "Hn. So what?" You smiled at him happily. "Because that's the first real time you actually said my name without using 'Onna'!" He glared at you again before saying, "I'm going to bed. We'll keep trying until you get the shield down decent. After that we can go to the harder stuff." You looked at him confused. ""Harder stuff"? What are you talking about?" He sighed and jumped onto a tree branch before answering, "In this world, you need to know how to fight to survive so starting tomorrow morning before we travel I'll train you how to fight." "O-ok. Thanks..I think." You said before he went, "I'm tired of saving your ass every time you get into trouble." You stood up angrily and growled at him. "YOU'RE the biggest ass I've ever met! God!" You plopped back down and climbed into bed. 'I can't believe him! At first I thought he was trying to help but he ends up INSULTING me! Bastard! I can't BELIEVE I thought he was hot! He's FAR from it!'


	11. Chapter 11

'Oooooooh my head! My body! My aching body!' you thought in agony as you guys continue to make your way to the hot spring. For the last two days Hiei has been training your mind along with your body. You almost got the mind barrier down pat but Hiei said something about working on the senses either tonight or tomorrow. As for the body part, you wince away from that as the bruises from those throb a bit. "Onna...try to keep up. I'm not in the mood to save you." Hiei said in a bored tone yet again. You glared at him. 'I can't believe I thought he was hot! Guess that went out the window!' you thought angrily as you quickly but slightly painfully follow him. He somehow managed to become the leader of this little trip. At the moment you didn't care. Considering how far you came and how close you were, you let him be in charge. Besides, you got a good vibe from him. At least you think it's a good vibe. For the last few weeks before finding Mich you've been getting this weird feeling that you've ignored or stomped down on before appearing. You shook it off again, not really wanting to venture into that territory just yet. 'At least he's helping me learn to protect myself. I'll give him that much.' you thought while looking at Hiei's back. 'I may not be any near his level but it's a start.' "The spring's about five hours away. We'll camp when we get there." He said gruffly before taking off. "Hey! Wait up!" You call after him. "*growl* You butthead! Where'd you go?!" You growled after him but he was already gone. You let out a angry sigh. 'I hate it when he does that! you think angrily. Once in a while he'd take off for a few hours and return later to train you.  
'Men! Where the hell does he go?!' you started but stopped. 'Oh yeah. He's probably going to protect his..post? I think. I totally forgot he helps protect the Makai and Ningen border.' You suddenly got a mischievous grin and slowly picked up the pace. 'If I go a little faster I MIGHT be able to beat him to the springs.'

~5 hours later~

"Man! I didn't think it was that far!" you exclaimed between breaths as you plop down onto the grass. You decided to run after jogging for thr first hour the rest of the way. "At *pant* least *pant* I got *pant* my run in*pant*!" Before all this started you always did a morning run before going to school or going back to your work. 'School..' you thought sadly. 'Seems like a life time since I've been there. I wonder what's going on back home?' You gave yourself a shake before you let homesickness set in. 'I don't have time to worry about that now! I have to find Mich before she has the babies! That's the most important thing right now!' You got up and stretched a bit before getting your bag out and getting your sloths out. 'I think I'll wash my cloths before I do anything else.' You made a face at them as you took them out and started to wash them. 'Good thing I'm a environment nut.' you thought as you naturally wash them. (Don't ask cause I have no idea) After setting your cloths out to dry you decide to do a little exploring.

~An hout later~

'Wow! This place is beautiful! Just hope I can handle anything that shows up.' you think as you quickly put your cloths away. Last time you tried to wash and bathe, you were nearly eaten by a water demon. You have NO desire to go through that again. You start to make camp as the sun slowly set. And still no Hiei. 'Figures. And he was suppose to intensify my training.' you let out a sigh. 'At least I can pratice with what he gave me.' You look around for a good size stick to use for a 'sword'. 'Let's see..feet firmly planted in place.' 'Dodge, dodge. Hit and turn. Dodge and turn. Look for a chance to strike. And...now!' you made a 'hit' on your shadow opponent. You check to see how late it was and saw that the sun had completely set. 'Hphm. Guess he's not coming tonight.' Suddenly you got an idea. 'Guess I can go relax and take a bath! Yes! Oh how I miss my precious bath!' You went back to the little spring you stumbled on earlier when you had that walk. It was a really nice place.  
'This place is beautiful. I guess the Makai does have it's moments.' you think as you quickly undress and leave your cloths next to the towl you brought. You tentively put a foot in before saying, "Screw it. Cannon ball!" At that you jumped in and quickly came up. "Ooooo! This feels soo good!" You quickly wash yourself and leaned against a rock once you finally washed your hair. You let out a content sigh and let your mind wander over the past events. 'Man. Hard to believe I'm in the Makai, considering I never believed in all this until Mich got kidnapped.' You let yourself sink until the water reached your chin. 'I wonder how far we still have to go. Are we close?' You continue to wonder about the past events until you feel yourself being lulled to sleep by the water. You gently close your eyes and was rudely awaken by a voice yelling, "Onna! Come out! We have training to do!" You glared angrily and mumbled, "Figures he'd come when I'm all relaxed. *sigh* Ok ok ok. I'm coming." You swim back towards your cloths. You got out and wrapped the towel around when Hiei suddenly appeared. "Onna! Where the hell were you?! You could have gotten..." but he stopped as he slowly started to realized you weren't dress. And so did you. You blushed a cazillion shades of red and dashed behind a tree. "You pervert! Get out of here!" "What the hell were you thinking?! Taking a bath! You don't even.." *WHACK* "What the?!" You threw another rock at him. "PERVERT! GET OUT OF HERE! I WANNA GET DRESSED! PERVERT!" "GRRRRR! FINE! GET dressed!" He stomped away while growling at you. "Once you're dressed training starts!" You made a face at him ."Fine! Just get going, you perv!" "Stop calling me a perv!" "Cause you are one!" Once he left you quickly came out and dressed quickly. You glared at him when you reached camp. He returned it and said, "Ready?" You nodded, still feeling miffed at him. "I'm going to blind you." "Huh? Why?" "Because it will blind you to sight." "I know that but why?" He sighed and said, "It's to train your spiritual sense." "Fine." He started to take off his bandanna. "Hiei, why are you taking that off?" "To blind fold you, baka onna. Now what you are about to see don't freak out." You gave him a look and said, "Hiei, considering what I've seen and been trough, there's not much I can freak out at." Your jaw dropped when he removed it. "What in the world..? What is that?" "This," Hiei said while pointing at his jagan eye,"is called a jagan eye. Or you might know it better as the evil eye." You stared at it for a few before asking, "Ok. But..what does it do?" "It allows me to do many things. None of which I'll tell you." You glared at him before saying, "Let's just blind fold me, Hiei." He glared and blindfolded you. "Now then, try to sense where I'm at. Once you do, we'll move on to the harder stuff." You said nothing and tried to sense him. After about three hours you started to get frustrated. "Haven't found me yet, Onna. Getting tired?" You growled at him. "Be quiet! This is nothing compared to some of the tests I had to take." To be honest you hadn't the slightest inkling on where Hiei might be. Just as you were about to admit defeat, you suddenly felt this energy. You couldn't be sure where but from the feel of it it was somewhere above you. You look in the direction of the energy and said, "I found you." "Hn. Not bad. Could have been worse but not bad. Do you want to keep going or try again in the morning." "Keep going."


	12. Chapter 12

"Come on, Onna! Jeesh! If I hadn't been training you you'd be 5 miles behind me!" Hiei growled at you as you guys climbed down some mountain. He, of course, was at the bottom already while you were halfway down it. "Shut up Hiei! You're not helping! God! What's with these mountains?!" You guys just left the springs about 6 hours ago and already you're fighting. "Watch where your stepping!" Hiei shouted at you just as you almost missed your footing. "Thank you for the encouragement! It's SO appreciating!" You muttered at him as you climbed down. Suddenly the rock your hand was on broke off. Your eyes widen as you tried to grab onto another. "Ah crap." was all you had the chance to say before you started to fall backwards. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" you screamed out. Just before you thought you were going to hit the ground you felt yourself land hard into someone's arms. Much to your relief it was Hiei who caught you. "Hn. You can't even stay out of trouble for even one day! How in the seven hells have you stayed alive before you met me?" You blushed slightly as he sat you down. "I managed. I did very well before I came here." "Hmph. I find that very hard to believe." You glared at him before sighing and saying, "Thanks for catching me." He stared at you for a minute before turning away. "Hn. Just keep an eye out for trouble." You shook your head. 'You sure have a strange way of saying welcome.' You thought as you followed. "Onna. I've been meaning to ask you." "Stop calling me Onna! It's Sam! And what is it?" "For a normal training session it takes weeks to learn some of the basics." "Yeah so?" "It only took you an hour to get them and have them done properly. Who are you?" You stared at him before saying, "Before all this started I was going to be a doctor and needed my mind to be sharp. I guess I never realized how sharp it was." "Hn. It explains only half of the reason. You took to the Katana faster then anyone I met and you're one of the better fighters, if given more training." You shrug. "I guess I'm pretty good with hands. Why you asking? There a point to all this?" For that he didn't answer so you decide to leave things be.  
Hiei's POV  
You couldn't figure out what it was about Sam that got to you. She was always pulling her own weight and helping so you couldn't say something about that. You just couldn't figure out why you can't seem to stop thinking about her. Even when you were portaling the border you still thought about her. Maybe it was because you happen to see her in only the towel. 'No. Can't be that. I was already thinking about long before that. Still...she did look..' right there you immediately stop that train of thought. 'Why am I even THINKING like that?! Oh no! Don't tell me mating season is coming up?!' you thought with dread but mentally shook it off. 'No. It's not yet that time. Still a couple of months away.' You look at Sam, who was readjusting her bag and keeping up, 'when the time comes, what am I going to do about her? Leave her alone and she'll be prey for whoever comes along. Downside is that if I stay I could end up doing the same.'  
Your POV  
'Why's Hiei keep looking at me funny? Do I have something on my face?' you thought as Hiei kept looking at you every now and then. You were about to ask him when he suddenly said, "Do you have anyone waiting for you back home?" You were caught off guard with the question. "Uhhh no. Family all passed away when I got accepted into grad school and I've been friends with Michelle since forever. As for boyfriends, hehe, never had the time to look for one. What with school and job I hardly had time to do homework let alone find a guy I wanted to date. Why do you ask?" He shrugged indifferently and replied, "No reason. How long have you been looking for her?" "About four months and 6 hours. I started investigating when she was kidnapped." He sighed and said, "You sure she's really who you think she is." You replied huffily, "Of course she is! If she wasn't I would have come across something that would imply but I haven't. She is who she is." You shook your head and ask, "Are you going somewhere with this?" He shrugged again and didn't answer. You sighed.  
~Three days later~  
You sighed as you guys walk and walk south. 'If this is a dead end I'm gonna be soooooo pissed.' you thought angrily. As you guys keep moving south bound, nothing's showed up; not a demon, not Isaac coming to pester you, hell, not even a whiff of information. Just plants, plants and more plants. And for some reason Hiei keeps on looking at you weird every so often when you weren't paying attention and it was driving you NUTS! "Hiei..." you start, trying to get his attention. "Hn. What?" "Would you kindly STOP looking me? It's driving me nuts!" At that he smirked slightly and replied, "I'm not, I'm just making sure you're not getting into any trouble." You glare at him and said, "I'm not getting into trouble! I'm just walking!" "Hphm. You're always deep in some kind of trouble." "Am not! Look! I'm just asking not to check on me so often!"


	13. Chapter 13

You let out a bored sigh as you guys keep walking. 'I can't believe this! I'm searching for my friend and I'm BORED! How stupid can I get?!' You let out another silent sigh before looking at Hiei. 'I wonder why he's helping me. Not that I don't mind but how do I know he's not plotting to kill me or something. I don't know a thing about him. I can always ask. Hmmmmmmmmm. Oh why not! The worst he can do is tell me to flake off.' "Hey Hiei." You began before he went, "Now what do you want?" You glare at him before going on. "What's the deal with you?" "What are you talking about?" "I mean what's your story? I tell you tell. Sound good?" Hiei thought for a second before saying flatly, "No." "Wha?! Come on! I'm finally wanting to tell you what happen to me and your turning it down?! What gives?!" Suddenly you felt a chill go down your spine and said, "Hiei...something's coming." He nodded. "I know. It's been following us for a few hours now." You quietly undid parts of your bag, ready to drop it and fight if need be. "What is it?" "Don't know. It's some kind of demon I never met. Could be anything." You stifle a groan before asking, "Think it's one of Isaac's?" Hiei replied, "Could be. Be prepared just in case." You nodded. You feel something coming closer and closer. It's aura making your skin prick a bit. Five minutes later a weird noise started to sound from all around you. "Interesting. They must have been around us this whole time. Must of had their spirit energy shielded from me." Hiei said thoughtfully. You slightly glare at him. "If they been around us all this time, how come they never made a mov-" you felt something hit you in the neck and all you saw was a blur. "SAM!" Hiei yelled as he saw you fall.

Hiei's POV

You feel Sam's glare as she said, "If they been around us all this time, how come they never made a mov.." but she never finished. You turned and your eyes widen as you watch her fall but quickly caught. "Sam! Sam! Wake up!" You yell at her as you quickly check to see what's wrong and found a tiny dart on the ground. Immediately you pick it up and exam it. Much to your relief it wasn't poison from the looks of it, just a sleep drug. "Sam, Sam, Sam. You're such a trouble maker." You mutter to yourself. NOW what were you going to do? You couldn't defend Sam and fight whoever threw that dart at her. Suddenly you felt something hit your neck and the next thing you know your world is black.

Your POV

"Sam. Sam. Can you hear me? Wake up!" You heard Hiei's voice say. "Uhhhhh..." you moan softly and the next second you feel a blinding headache. "Agh! What was that crap!? My head kills like no tomorrow!" "Some sleeping drought." You opened your eyes to see you were chained to a wall. Hiei was chained to the other side opposite of you. You sigh. "Who caught us?" "I have no idea but their going to regret making me mad." 'I can tell.' you thought with a faint shiver from his expression. "So, how do we get out of here?" He didn't answer and from the looks of it was playing with the locks. You raised an eyebrow and ask, "I take it you use to be a thief?" He stared at you in surprise. "How did you kno.." "I...pulled a few stunts when I was younger. Anyway, when we get out of here I'll trade you my story for yours. Deal?" He glared but nodded. 'If'll get her to talk then I'll agree to just about anything.' Suddenly a door opened and robed creatures slinked into the room. You want to say walk but they were most definitively slinking. Then they start to talk in some weird language you never heard of. 'Hiei. What are they saying?' 'Hn. I never heard of that language before.' 'Oh great. Chained to a wall with no idea who or what our captors are and to top it off no CLUE as to what their saying!' One of the things moved in your direction and took out a wicked looking. Your eyes widen slightly but you glared at it. Suddenly the creature swung the knife and it missed your check by mere millimeters. You heard Hiei growl low at that and one of the others went over and kicked him in the stomach. 'HIEI!' 'Hn. I'm fine. No need to go into a dizzy over nothing.' 'Are you sure?!' Before you got an answer the one with the knife unchained you but before you had the chance to put up a fight, it threw some powdery stuff in your face. Luckily you didn't breath in but you still got a small amount. You slowly start to fall asleep again. You tried to stand but your legs felt like rubber, making you fall. Just before you pass out you heard Hiei say, 'Sam. I'm coming for you so don't go pulling any stunts that'll make things worse.' 'N...no...p...prob.' was your reply.  
You woke up to the sounds of someone crying. "Uh..." You moan softly. Immediately the crying stops and a small voice asks, "Who's there?! Show yourself!" You slowly and tenderly stand up and saw you were in another cell but it was so dark that you couldn't even see your shadow. You try to look for the source of the voice but couldn't locate it. "It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you." "H-h-how do I know that?! Last time someone said that my momma was killed and I was thrown in this scary place!" You say softly, "It's ok. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm looking for someone. Maybe you can help me." The voice replied tentatively, "M-m-me? You...want...me to help?" You smiled. "Yes. My friend and I can help get you out of here." There was a long pause that you were afraid that you scared it but suddenly something tackled you while saying, "If you can get me out of here, I'll help you do whatever you want!" You both fall to the ground with a dull thud. You laugh softly and say, "Thank you but is there any lights in here?" "No. THEY don't bother with lights. Hold on a second." You feel the thing get off and the next second the sound of rocks hitting each other sounded and a bright light showed your companion. It turned out to be...


	14. Chapter 14

The light revealed a girl...with monkey ears?  
She smiled and said, "My name's Pudding and, as you can tell, I'm a monkey demon." Pudding suddenly looked at you in disbeilf. "You're a ningen?! What's a ningen doing so far in the Makai?!" You smiled grimly. "That's a long story. So," you kneel slightly so your eye level with her, "who are these things?" Pudding shrugged and replied, "Don't know. All I know was mommy and I were in trouble and then THEY came and said they would help us but instead they killed mommy and threw me in here." She started to cry a little. You pulled her close and hugged her. "It's ok, little one." You smile at her. "Don't worry, I'll help get you out of here." She looked doubtful and pulled away. "Look. I don't know if I can TRUST you! For all I know you could be one of THEM." At that you laughed, making her look at you funny before you said, "I'm not one of those things. My friend and I got caught off guard and they chained us in some cell." You start to look around. "Just what is this place?" The little demon shrugged again and said, "I don't know. I've been in here for months. I haven't even found a way out!" You smiled at her. "You must have been pretty lonely done here." She blushed a little before turning away. "No. I've been fine!" You shook your head and start to examine the door. It was an older door made of some type of wood you've never seen before. 'If I can just find the hinges I think I can open this thing.' You start to look around the edges to find something that looked even remotely like a hinge but no luck. "If you're looking for a way to open it you might as well forget it. It's impossible. Only THEY can." Pudding said scronfully from behind you. You glanced at her and continued. Hard to believe that this was the same little girl who hugged you and now was acting tough. "You know, you don't have to put up an act. I'm not going to hurt you."  
She looked at you and was about to say something when she suddenly went wild eye and put out the torch. "Quick! Follow me!" She said while grabbing your hand. At the moment you couldn't see a thing but suddenly felt cool rock all around you. "This is my hide out. They never look in here." You were about to ask why when the door suddenly opened and light poured in. You saw the same things that brought you here come and leave something on the floor. Once they left and door closed, cutting off the light. Pudding quickly light another torch and brought it over to it. It appeared to be a bag of some sorts. You were about to reach for it when suddenly Pudding started screeching really loud and ran from it, dropping the torch in the process. "Pudding! What is it?!" You ask but in response she pointed behind you so you turned and much to your horror the "bag" turned out to be some large bug. "OH MY GOD. I OFFICIALLY HATE the Makai!" You growled angrily as you try to dodge the insect's legs which seemed to appear out of nowhere. 'Damn. What wouldn't I GIVE for some sort of weapon right now!' you think as you dodge yet another leg but only to meet it's jaws. "Gah!" you cried out as it nearly missed you, cutting some of your hair in the process. You suddenly see the torch and got an idea. "Pudding! Toss me the torch!" You called at her as you kept the bug distracted. Pudding, however, was too frightened by the insect to move an inch. "PUDDING! THE TORCH! GIVE IT TO ME!" That made her snap out of it. She quickly dashed over to it and threw it at you. "Here, buggy, buggy, buggy." You called to it. Just as it turns towards you, you ran and quickly slid under neath it and put part of the torch on it's leg. It started spreading quickly while the bug let out a horrible screeching sound and was lit like a match for a second before collapsing to the ground and ash in under two seconds. You stared at it before saying, "Interesting..I now officially hate bugs." Pudding stomped over to you and went, "Are you insane?! Do you even KNOW WHAT that was?!" You shrugged and replied, "Beats me. It was going to eat us so I figured I fight back." She stared at you for a second before saying, "For a human you're weird." You laughed. "That's a new one. I've been called many things but weird isn't one of them."  
OO BUG! *gets can of bug spray* Me:I don't think that's going to work.  
Pudding was about to say something when the door suddenly opened and the creatures came in. Pudding froze when they looked at her. You growled low and got in front of her. "Stay behind me." You whispered at her. She growled. "I can take care of myself!" She said angrily before one of the creatures came over and said something. "Any idea on what their saying?" You asked her. She shrugged. "Beats me. They hardly ever come into this room." You suddenly ducked as you felt something whiz by you. You heard a loud "thunk" against the back wall and quickly turned to see a dart. 'So THAT'S what they used on us earlier.' you thought to yourself before dodging another one. Pudding was going the same until she got hit in the neck. "Pudding!" You yelled at her and before you could do anything the demons quickly grabbed her and left just as quickly as they came. "NO! LET HER GO!" You screamed at them and ran after them but the door slammed down on your face. "No. No. NO. NO! PUDDING!" You yell with fear. For her. For yourself. After beating on the door for what seemed like hours you stop and put your forehead on it before sliding down. "No. Not again. Why can't I protect people?" You whispered to yourself.'Hiei...I hope you're alright.' you think worriedly. 'I know he can take care of himself but..' you stop that thought. 'Heh. I guess I AM developing a crush on him.' you think as you sat there with your hands throbbing, you slowly started to hear foot steps heading towards it. You quickly move away from it and grabbed the dying torch. 'Ok, you stupid pricks. I'm ready for you.' you thought grimly as the door opened to reveal...Hiei? "Hiei?! Hiei!" You cried happily and tackled him. "AH! Damnit Onna! Let go!" Hiei growled at you. "I can't tell you how HAPPY I am to see you!" you say as you hug him tightly. He blushed slightly and returned it before making you let go. "It seems you're in one piece." He told you as you guys quicky start to look for an exit. "Yeah. I'm just lucky I guess.." you stop and say, "We can't go just yet." "What?! Why?! Look, you said so yourself; Time is NOT on our side." You glare at him slightly before saying, "We have to find and rescue Pudding." He gave you a funny look before saying, "Who the hell, or what, is Pudding?" "A monkey demon. I promised her we'd get her out of here!" "Onna we don't have to for this.." But you cut him off. "Hiei I GAVE my word. When I give my word I KEEP it. Look, if you're scared or something you don't have to help so.." He growled lowly, "Ooooonnnnnaaa..." "What? What?" was all you said before he pinned you to the wall with his katana at your neck. "Hiei...?" "I'm NOT a coward nor am I afraid of some worthless creatures." He sighed before removing the sword. "Fine. We'll rescue her but most likely she's dead already." You glared at him before realizing he hasn't let go of you. You blushed slightly and said, "Ah...Hiei?" He glared and went, "What is it now?" "Um, mind letting me go?" He took notice and was about to let go when he was suddenly pushed up closer to you and his lips met yours. Again. "Human! Come on! Let's go!" You heard Pudding say as Hiei slowly moved away with a blush. You still had a blush on when you turned to see Pudding standing there with cuts and bruises all over. She growled at you. "I see your friend got you out but come on!" Hiei stared at her before saying coldly, "How did you get free?" She replied, "I'll explain later but RUN!" You turned to see a small army of the creatures. Hiei smirked and got in front of you two. "Get out of here. I'LL take care of this." "Hiei! You can't be serious!" "Onna...Sam...DON'T argue with me." He said in a tone that sent shivers up your spine. You quickly nod and take off with Pudding. "Huh?! He's staying behind!? He nuts?!" She asked as you guys quickly leave. "Nah. He'll be fine." You smiled and continued. "He can handle just about anything." After finally getting out of...whatever that was, you guys didn't step until you were well away from there. Pudding plopped down face first on the ground, breathing hard. You leaned against a tree while breathing hard. 'I hope Hiei's okay.' "Hn. Of course I'm ok. Those losers didn't stand a chance against me." You heard Hiei say from above you. You look and smiled at him. "Good to see you're in one piece." He jumped down next to you and glared at Pudding. "And just who is this brat?" Pudding jumped up and growled, "I'm not a brat! My name's Pudding!" "Hn. Who would name a demon Pudding?" "Hiei!" you growled at him. "That was rude." Pudding suddenly tried to attack. Key word: tried since Hiei was barely moving out of her reach. "Gah! Hold still, you evil meanie!" Pudding growled at him as she kept trying to land a hit. Hiei sighed and said, "Great. Just what I need, another baka like Kuwabara." You laughed a bit at Pudding's aggravated expression before asking, "Who's Kuwabara?" "Hn. Some baka I teamed up with a while back along with some others." "Oh. Ok." "ARG! Just WHO are you?!" Pudding yelled at him but he ignored her.


	15. Chapter 15

"I can't believe this! How long do you people plan to travel?! We've been walking for three days!" Pudding complained loudly. Again for the third time today. You sigh silently as Hiei said angrily, "Baka onna you wanted to come with us so you're in for it. Besides, WHY are you even with us? It's not like you owe us or anything." Pudding glared at him before retorting, "Do you even KNOW where we're going?!" Hiei didn't even answer.  
You sigh and say to them, "Stop fighting. Look Pud," "Pudding!" "Pudding, all we know is that we have to keep going south. We're trying to find someone." She looked at you. "Your friend?" You nod. "Yeah. Some demon by the name of Isaac kidnapped her five months ago." At his name her eyes widen and said, "You mean to tell me you're trying to find someone HE took?!" You and Hiei look at her. "Yes. Why?" She pointed to the west and said, "He's got a hide out that way but I wouldn't go there if I were you!" "Hnnn. You're not us so.." he shrugged "do what you will. We have to go. Right, Sam?" You nod. "Yup. He's got my friend." "But why?! When he takes someone he never lets them go!" "Because she's my friend and I want to save her before she gives before." At that Pudding stopped. "You mean to say she's having babies? His?" At that you stopped. "Yes.." you answer slowly. "You might as well forget about it then cause he wants the child then." You growled. "No! He's getting NOTHING! All he'll get is .." "His throat slit." Hiei finished for you. You turn and look at him. He closed his eyes for a second and there was a faint glow beneath his headband before opening them again. "She's right. It's about a four day walk to the west from here." "Good. Let's go." You say as you start to walk. "But there's a problem." Hiei said, making you stop. You turn and put a hand on your hip and went, "Oh really? What's the problem?" "There's a swamp full of creatures you DON'T want to meet and you'll have to get past some nasty plants. Not to mention a castle with a demon army." Hiei said. You sighed and replied, "Oh joy. Guess we better hurry then." Pudding gawked at you. "Are you nuts?! His castle is at the heart of the forbidden swamp!" You shrugged. "I don't care. I must save them." She sighed. "Alright. It's your funeral."  
You and Hiei both shrug at that and moved towards the west. With Pudding right behind you. 'Finally! We actually are heading towards something! I was getting bored going south all the time!' you think to yourself. You stole a glance at Hiei before quickly looking away. 'I'm gonna be sad a little when this is all over. I'm gonna miss him.'

~7 hours later~

"This it?" You ask your companions. Hiei nodded while Pudding looked scared for a second before shaking herself and nodded at you. "Be on your guard. This swamp will try to kill you..if you let it." Hiei said warningly. "Got it." You all slowly walk into the swmap. It looked nothing like the ones back in the States. The ones there felt gloomy and alien. This one...you didn't know what but it felt like it was...evil. Like it directed a hate at those who enter it. You shiver a bit and feel Hiei move closer. You raise an eyebrow at him to which he replied, "Just want to make sure you stay OUT of trouble." You smile and shook your head. "I'll try my best." Pudding moved really close to you and gently took a hold of your bag. (By the way, I forgot to say Hiei grabbed your bag on the way to get you back at the village) You turn and flash a smile at her. She blushed a bit. Either from being embarrassed or from being caught at grabbing you. As you made your way through the swamp all was quiet. Too quiet. "Why is it so quiet here?" you asked Hiei softly, in case there was a GOOD reason for the silence. He shrugged. You sighed for the tenth time that day and kept moving until it got dark. "I suggest we sleep up tonight." Hiei said with Pudding nodding her head. You looked at them both. You started to say something but stopped. You kinda agree with them but you didn't have to like it. Pudding jumped into a nearby tree and got settled for the night. Hiei did the same leaving you to climb a tree. 'At least I love climbing cause otherwise I'd be in deep do-do.' you think as you climb to the nearest branch and sat on it. Surprisingly it was a good size branch to where you can stretch out on. You sigh and took a look where the others were. Pudding disappeared but when you looked up you saw her above you on the next branch. You smile and started to get comfy when you accidentally slip and was about to fall when Hiei quickly grabbed you and pulled you back up. He pulled you close while saying, "Can't leave you alone for one minute without getting into trouble. Hn. Looks like I'm with you tonight." You blushed a bit as he pulled away and leaned against the trunk. You mumbled a thanks and got your blankets out and went over to Hiei to do the same. "Do you think we'll ever find Michelle?" you suddenly ask. He opened an eye and replied, "Yes. We're three days away from the castle." You closed your eyes and said, "What if we don't make it in time? What if she already had them? What if.." but you were cut off by Hiei pulling you close to him. "Stop worrying so much. She's fine an so are they babies. If anything, you should worry about what's going to happen with Isaac." You nodded slowly and laid your head on his shoulder before falling asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

"Look! For the hundredth time! I. DON'T. KNOW! All I know is that it's somewhere in here!" Pudding growled at Hiei as you guys carefully made your way through the dense swamp. Fog had rolled some time during the night and made things more difficult to see clearly. You sighed. 'How much longer are you guys gonna fight? You've been at it since this morning.' You said to Hiei. 'Hn. Not my fault she's being difficult.' 'Look. She doesn't know so let it rest.' 'She knows that there's a man-eating plant around here. I want to know where it is so we can avoid it. I'm not in the mood to go saving you and some baka monkey.' You glared at him. 'Hey! I'm NOT even going anywhere NEAR plants! I've been attacked enough by them!' He smirked and replied, "That's why you NEED me. You'll be in hip deep in trouble without me." Your glare deepens at him, which only made him smirk more. "I was doing just fine BEFORE I came here! I was doing quite well until I met up with those demons." He shook his head and went back to being bored. Pudding glared at him and jumped on your shoulder. (by the way, she can turn into a small orange monkey when she feels like it) "Why are you even hanging with this baka? He's trouble all over." She whispered to you angrily as she continued to glare. You smiled. "You know, I've been asking that myself." You glance at him. "Now that I think about it I don't care. It beats journeying alone." She sighed and got comfy on before falling asleep. "You know you really shouldn't be so trusting of everyone you meet." Hiei told you while looking at something far off. You turn to him and replied, "I don't. Ever since this all started I stopped trusting what everyone's been telling me and went my own way." "Hn. Then what about me? Do you trust me?" That made you stop for a second. You didn't answer him.  
Waitaminute! Are you saying I DON'T trust him?! Me:You're just confused, you want to trust him but how can you trust a guy who you don't know a thing about?  
After that you guys were quiet for a long while. You lost in your thoughts while Hiei was wondering how the hell you guys were gonna get your friend out of there when suddenly you heard a noise behind you. You both whip around to find nothing and the next instant there was a loud scream...and from the sounds of it it sounded like someone dying. "What was that?" You quietly asked. "Nothing. Just some demon getting killed." was Hiei's reply before moving on. 'Real compassion back there.' you think to yourself quickly catching up to him. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here!" boomed out a gigantic voice. It was all around your group. "Sam. Be on your guard." Hiei ordered while taking out his katana. You got your staff ready. (forgot to mention:when you first entered the swamp you picked up a good size stick to use for defense)Pudding immediately woke up and turned back into human form. Rustling noises came from the bushes nearby and shadows zipped across all around you guys. "Tch. What a bunch of amutars." Hiei muttered. You and Pudding look at him questionably. "Just some low-grade thiefs; using the fog as cover to attack us." ""Low-grade thiefs"?! Don't write us off so quickly, shrimp!" the same voice said. Hiei smirked and replied, "If you value your pitfull lifes I suggest you move on and find someone else to rob before I kill you." "Ha! You?! Kill US?! Don't make us laugh!" You feel something brush up against you and instinctively you hit it. "OW! STUPID BITCH!" Suddenly a shape lunged at you, throwing you on the ground. "SAM!" Pudding yelled. Hiei's eyes widen and was about to attack when you kicked your attacker in the gut and sent a punch to it's face, making IT get thrown back. You quickly jump back up. "Don't ever touch me, pig." You said coldly before quickly going over to your small group. "What is this? A female? Ooooo! Looks like we're in for some fun tonight boys!" boomed the voice followed by some snickers and laughs. Hiei tighten his grip on the katana before saying coldly, "First one to touch her and I collect your head." "Ha! That'll be the da-" but the voice stopped in mid-sentence before saying in disbelief. "The female's a ningen?! How in all the seven hells did a ningen make it this far?!" Another voice called out, "Hey boss! Mebbe it's that thing Lord Isaac's been playing with! Just think if we catch it how much Isaac is willing to pay for it's release?!" At that you growled and yelled, "I'M NOT AN "IT" BASTARDS! IT'S SAM!" "ONNA! SHUT UP OR ELSE!" Hiei growled at you before you stormed closer to them. "HOLY HELL FIRE! Boss! It IS her! Oooo! Isaac'll pay a FORTUNE to get her back!" The voice was silent before saying, "Agreed. Capture the human; kill the brat." "Say what?!" Pudding growled angrily before realizing it was Hiei it was talking about. After that, you don't know what happened next. All you remember was demons coming out from all over with you and Pudding up a fight and the next second corpses were all around you. In the center of the mess was Hiei, still holding his katana and cleaning it. "Hmph. Stupid bakas. Ah well. I DID warn them." was all Hiei said before putting the sword away and turned in your guys direction. "Hm? What's with the looks? Let's get going before more buffoons show up." You and Pudding were still in shock as you guys follow right behind him. "Man, Sammy. Just WHO did you get paired up with? He's one serious fighter." Pudding muttered to you as she resumed her place on your shoulder. "I don't know. I've never really seen him in a fight before." "You call that a fight? Pff. That was just a waste of time. Enough chattering and keep moving." Immediately you both were quiet. 'Man. Just WHO did I team up with? I didn't even see him MOVE.' You thought to yourself.

"Sam." Pudding whispered. "Hm?" "I think I know who he is." You whispered. "Huh? Really?" She nodded, her tail swishing behind her in a agitated manner. "If I remember correctly he's one of the most wanted demons in the Makai." Before you could asked anything Hiei growled, "I thought I told you guys to be QUIET." "Hey now! We can talk if we want! It's not like we're bothering you!" You retorted angrily, his attitude getting on your nerves. In an instant he was in front of you with the katana at your neck. "Every time you made a sound you give away our position." You glared at him, refusing to budge an inch. "We're keeping it quiet, Hiei. Besides, the demons around here know what I am so it's not like it's going to make a dif-" You didn't get the chance to finish because he was suddenly kissing you. Your eyes widen in shock before he pulled away and resumed walking. You stood there for a second with a major blush on your face before quickly catching up with him. Pudding smirked and said telepathically, 'I think he has the hots for you.' That made you blush even more. 'Come on Pudding! There's no WAY he could have the "hots" for me. Besides, I don't feel the same.' You said the last part, trying to cover your feelings up for him. Pudding saw through this and smirked even more. 'I think you feel the same way!' 'I do not!' 'Do too!' 'Do not!' 'Do too!' 'Not!' 'Too!' 'Not!' 'If you don't then why are you blushing? And why do you always check him out when you think nobody's looking?' Your blush was going to cause your head to explode at any time now. Pudding laughed mentally at you. 'Yeah. You like him. But why HIM? He's a bastard!' You didn't answer. "We're camping here tonight." Hiei suddenly announced before grabbing you and in a tree the next minute. "Hiei?! What's gotten into you?!" You growled at him as he "sat" you down and got comfy. He shrugged and replied, "Nothing."

You sighed and got your blankets. Pudding had already went to the next branch or so above you. You went over to Hiei and sat by him. He was deep in thought as you sat down and got comfy. "Hiei?" You asked softly. That made him snap out of it and turn to look at you. "You ok? You seemed kinda weird today. Anything wrong?" He shrugged. "I'm fine. It's being kinda agravating having to worry about a third person." It slowly dawned on you and it made you smirk. "You're jealous that I'm hanging out with Pudding, aren't you?" He glared at you. "No. I am NOT jealous of that baka monkey." "Yes you are! If you weren't, you wouldn't have been more of an ass then usual." His glare deepened at you before replying, "In order for me to be jealous I would have to like you and I don't." You smiled cutely at him, making him blush slightly. "You're cute when you're denying your jealous." He growled. "I told you I am NOT jealous!" You laughed and leaned against the trunk of the tree. You felt his arm wrap around you and pull you close. You close your eyes and laid your head on his shoulder, falling asleep immediately.

Hiei's POV

You couldn't believe Sam was right on the mark about you being jealous. Ever since that damn baka onna monkey showed up, she was spending more time with her then you. At first you couldn't believe it but as time went on you started to feel more jealous. You have no intention of telling HER that, especially since you liked her but you also weren't planning on telling her that either. You sighed silently and looked at the sleeping Sam. She's so cute and innocent when she's asleep. Hard to believe she's the same stubborn and bull headed person. You continue to study her for a few more minutes. Your eyes lingering on her soft lips. 'Can't believe I actually kissed her. Most of the times we did it was a complete accident.' You longed to do it agan but didn't dare. Not that you didn't want to but it was just, well, 'Screw it.' you thought and gently kissed her. She moved closer to you, making you deepen the kiss. You closed your eyes for a second, savoring the feel of the kiss before pulling away.


	17. Chapter 17

You feel something trying to wake you but you only cuddle closer to the warm body next to you. "Sam. Wake up! We've got to go!" You heard a famailer voice say. You groaned and slowly opened your eyes to find Hiei standing above you with a hand out to you. You sigh silently and took it. "We're about a day or so away from the castle. At least that's what the baka monkey tells me." "HEY! I'M NOT A BAKA!" Pudding growled at him from on her branch. He merely looked at her and picked you up before jumping neatly onto the ground. Pudding growled angrily and loudly before jumping next to you and got in Hiei's face. "Now see here! Stupid being a bastard! I know it's hard but I haven't done a THING to you and.." "And you keep spewing nonsense. Therefore you ARE like that baka ningen Kuwabara." "GAH! DON'T YOU COMPARE ME TO SOME LOSER I'VE NEVER MET!" Hiei ignored her and started walking in the direction of the castle. "Hmph! I can't believe him! Just what kind of demon are you?!" Pudding growled under her breath. "Hn. A fire demon, if you must know." "Huh?! Wow! For a fire demon you're awfully cold!" Pudding comment before withering under the glare he sent her way. You sighed and yawn before saying, "Come on you two. It's too early to be fighting. Pudding, give him a break. He's been nice enough to help me out here. Hiei, quit picking on her and comparing her to this..Kuwabara person." "But he started it!" "I don't start fights...unless I get something out of it." "Hiei! Pudding! Enough! You know better than to pick on a child Hiei! And Pudding, LEAVE him be! I DON'T CARE who started whatever, I'LL finish it if you both don't shut up." They grumbled a bit but didn't say a word and all was silence for 7 hours until Pudding said, "I'm hungry." "Hn. You're ALWAYS hungry." "But I am!" "But Pudding, didn't you have a snack or something about three hours ago?" You ask her as you dig around in your bag for something for her to eat. After searching for a few minutes you pulled out a candy bar and gave it to her. "Huh? What's this?" "It's called a candy bar. It's REALLY good." She looked at it funny before biting into it, WITHOUT taking the warper off first. "Bleh! Tastes nasty!" You stifled a laugh before taking it back from her and opening it. "Here. It should taste better WITHOUT the wrapper." She sniffed at it and took a bite out of it. Her face lit up as she ate it quickly. "Wow! This is really good! Got any more?!" You laughed and shook your head. "No sorry. That's the last of it. The rest is just can food, which pretty soon I'm gonna run out of." "Hn. Don't worry about it. When you run out I can always show you how to collect food." Hiei commented. You smiled cutely at him, making him blush slightly. "Thanks." "Hn." was all he said.  
Hiei suddenly stopped, sniffing the air quickly. You look at him in confusion and turned to Pudding, who was doing the same. "What? What is i-" You started before Hiei rushed over and picked you up bridle stlye while Pudding went into her monkey form and hid in your bag. "Hey! What the hell is going on?!" "Sam! For once DON'T ask questions and hold on tight." was all he said before running at an unimaginable speed. You turn your head towards his chest to block out most of the wind and held a tight grip on his shirt. "Sam...there's something bad coming. It reeks of...something." Pudding said as she popped her head out of the bag. "What? What's coming?" "We don't know but it's in our way." "And I'm not in the mood to fight it and keep an eye on you at the same time." Hiei added, making a hard right and going straight past whatever it was. Pudding whimpered and went back into the bag. You heard a high-pitched wailing and tried to turn your head to look at it but Hiei wouldn't let you. "Hey! What gives?!" "Sam. It's NOTHING you need to see. Just keep your eyes shut." Hiei said, pulling you closer to him. As you guys went by, you heard something scream in pain and buried your face in his chest, making Hiei pull you close to him. About an hour later you woke up laying on the ground. You quickly sat up and got up. "About time you woke up. We're just an hour or two away from the castle." Hiei's voice said before he materialized out of nowhere. You let out a relived sigh before saying, "That's good...but...where's Pudding?" "Hn. I'm having her scout the area for a good entrance." "Huh?! You're making her do it alone?! Why?!" "Hn. Turns out she's quite the thief. She found two entrances I somehow missed and looking for a secluded entrance to sneak in." "Oh. Did you sense Mich in there?" He shook his head. "No. Sorry. They must have her shielded from my eye." You sighed and used your sense. "Wow. There's a LOT of demons in there. If I'm reading this thing right their pretty strong." Hiei smirked cockily and replied, "I can handle them. Most likely a waste of time with them." You glared at him slightly. "You think EVERYONE'S a waste of time." He shrugged and was about to say something when Pudding dropped down onto his shoulder, and from the looks of it, nearly giving him a heart attack. "Stupid baka onna monkey! Did you find a way in?" "Hmph! For your information, yes! It's about a half-mile that way. It's going to be a little...wet."  
"Tch. Whatever. Sam. You ready?" Hiei asked you before he took off in the direction Pudding pointed out. "Hey!" you both went and tried, key word:TRIED, to catch up.

~5 minutes later~

You halted to a stop after seeing and going by Hiei. "What..*pant* were YOU *pant* thinking?! Going *pant* off on your own?! *pant*?!" "Hn. I can take care of myself...unlike you." You glared at him again. "Must we go through this EVERY time?" He smirked cockily and didn't reply. "Argh! You're such an arrogant bastard!" He still didn't reply. "Excuse me but if you guys want to get caught that's fine, just let me go inside the cave." Pudding said as she took off her shoes and stuffed them in the bag. You glare at him one last before doing the same. Pudding went up to a river that was nearby and jumped in. "I can't believe I'm doing this." You mutter as you readjust the bag before jumping in. Hiei followed right behind. Everything was muffled as you guys followed her downwards towards a cave. 'That must be it.' you thought as you go through it and up onto the other side. You took a deep breath of air as Pudding swam towards the shoreline. Inside the cave was what appeared to be wine and some other stuff you weren't too sure on. You just put a foot on the solid ground as Hiei appeared by you. "This must be some old cell turned wine cellar. " Hiei muttered to himself as you guys quickly dry off and out the shoes back on. "C'mon. Let's go. You said your friend's here right?" Pudding said, trying to get you guys motivated to get moving. "Hn. Relax. Baka onna monkey." "Don't call me that!" "Baka onna monkey!" Argh! Stop it!" You shook your head at them as you wring out your hair by the water. You feel something slid along your feet but shook it off as water until you were lifted into the air with a small scream. Hiei whipped his head around to see you were being held upside down...being held by..a fountain of water. "Good job, Mine. (pronounced as "Min" "ay") said a watery voice. You look around for the source of it while Hiei whipped around to see Pudding morphing into an older woman who had black eyes and dark blue hair. Hiei snarled anrgily and said coldly, "It was all a trick to get us here?!" The woman, Mine, smiled at him. "Correct. Well, actually, more like getting HER here. You're just something that got dragged into this.


	18. Chapter 18

You watch as Hiei and the woman, Mine, square off. Mine smirked and said, "You have a lot of guts...coming here into my master's castle." Hiei growled at her. "You have something we want and we're taking it." The smirk grew and turned to you. "So this is the human who currently has my master's attention." You growled and spat at her, "I don't care! GIVME BACK MY FRIEND!" At that she laughed. "There's no way I can possible do that. She has something the Master wants. What the Master wants, the Master gets. Now then," She said as she turned her attention back to Hiei. "What shall we do with you? The Master has no use for you." Hiei said icily, "I don't give a damn about what your "master" wants. What I want is the girl..Let her go!" Mine smiled and suddenly launched herself at Hiei who quickly dodged the assult but only to get hit from behind. "HIEI!" You scream as you watch him get hit. You feel something slid up to your shoulders and saw that it was water. "You! Be quiet! Mine! Can I take the ningen and go?!" Mine shrugged. "Do whatever you want. Just don't hurt her. The Master wants her." At that Hiei gave her his famous glare and replied ice cold, "He can't have her or anyone else!" For an instant he vanishes again. "Huh?! Where'd he g-" Mine started but gets cut off by Hiei appearing behind her and slicing her. You feel your eyes widen. You didn't even SEE him move his blade or even knew it sliced her until she fell into pieces. "May I never see your face again, witch." Hiei said coldly to the corpse before turning in your direction. "Let the woman go." Hiei said coldly to the being holding you. You feel the water shift and a being made of water appeared in the lake, just before Hiei but not on land. "You may have defeatd Mine but she was just a low level whore of a guard. As much as I want to fight you I don't have the time." The voice was now coming from the being. At that Hiei growled and demanded, "You WILL fight me!" The being shook with laughter before vanishing back into the water. Hiei growled angrily. Suddenly you were let go. "AAAAAHHHHH!" You screamed in more surprise than fear. "SAM!" You heard Hiei yell and the next thing you know was him catching and shielding you from the impact. You both came up gasping for air. Hiei quickly came over to you an demanded/asked, "Are you alright?!" You nodded. As you guys swim towards the shore line you said, "Yes. You were right."  
"Hm? Right about what?" "About Pud-" but you didn't even get the chance to finish before you were pulled under. "Sam!" Hiei dove right under to see the same being holding you by the throat. "I wouldn't move any closer if I were you." It's voice rang out through the water. 'How can I hear it?' you thought as you stopped struggling, not wanting to waste your preious O2. 'Sam!?' You heard Hiei say in a panicky voice. 'I'm fine. Just saving my energy.' was your reply. The being smirked. "Sorry but we have to go see Master Isaac." Suddenly the being zoomed down towards the darkness of the lake. You feel yourself jerk and follow after it, against your will. 'SAM!' you heard Hiei call after you. That was all you knew.

Hiei's POV

'NO! SAM! SAM!' You call after her, slowly losing sight of them. You were swimming as fast as you can but you were no match for this water demon. You started to black out but you still try to catch them. You made a bitter way back to the surface. Once you broke through you gasped for air for a few before swimming onto the shoreline. You got out and slowly made your way towards a set of stone stairs that was almost hidden by all the stuff down here. You clench and unclench your hands angrily as you climb up. 'Sam. I swear I'll get you back if it's the last thing I do.'

Your POV

"Sammy! Sammy! Wake up! Please! For the love of god! WAKE UP!" You heard a very famailer voice calling you from very far away. You slowly wake up and open your eyes groggily to see a very blurry face. "Mich?" you mumbled as your thoughts gathered again and vision coming back to reveal a very much and a very happy Michelle. She smiled at you. Immediately you started crying and bear hugged her. "Ack! S-s-sammy! You're choking me!" You only let up just a bit but still held onto her.  
She sighed softly and returned it before moving away. "Sam I.." She started but halted after seeing your face which was filled with so many emotions. "I...I never stopped looking for you. No matter what anyone said I still kept looking. No matter what happened to me I still kept searching. I knew, just KNEW I'd find you." Mich smiled softly at you before it turned sad. "I know...and I'm sorry." You smiled happily. "It doesn't matter. I've found you and HOLY CRAP! YOU'RE HUMUNGOUS!" You exclaimed when you saw her stomach. It was normally flat as a pancake but now it was a hell of a late bigger. She glared daggers at you. "What do you expect? I'm having TRIPLETS hon!" You grin sheepishly and you two start to exchange stories about what has happened over the last five months. "Oh. My. God. Sam! Are you INSANE?! FIGHTING DEMONS! GETTING KIDNAPPED?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" Michelle yelled at you as you shrink back from her. "B-but Mich. I'm fine and besides I've been doing pretty good. Well, to be honest, a lot better since Hiei showed up. He's been teaching me how to fight and how to use spirit energy." She sighed and calmed down a bit. Suddenly she got a silly smirk on her face and went, "You like him, don't you?" You totally froze up, in shock that she caught on so quickly. You feel a blush creep onto your face as you said, "What? How can you even th-" but she cut you off, "Because I have never seen that look on your face before. Especially when talking about a guy. So...what's he like? Not gonna ask if he's a demon since, well, that's obvious." You tell her a bit about him. Every now and then she would nod her head. Finally she said, "He sounds like a complete bastard but from the sounds of it a pretty decent guy. *laughs* If you think about it, he's perfect for you. You're both stubborn, don't know the meaning of "give up" and are completely bullheaded beyond reason."  
You glared at her before looking around the room. It certainly wasn't what you expect; it was a high class posh room with expensive carpet and silk sheets. "You've certainly been living high, Mich." You commented as you got off the bed you had been laying on. Mich shrugged and said emotionless, "It's all right. I really miss home. He's only been treating me this good is because of the babies." "Mich..." you said before suddenly the door opened to reveal...


	19. Chapter 19

The door opened to reveal...a maid...that had cat ears and tail? "Good day, mi'lady. Hope you slept well?"  
Mich smiled at her and replied, "Good day Akako. I slept very well." Akako smiled shyly back at her before asking, "How are the little ones doing today?" Her smile got even bigger and answered, "Well. Their moving around a lot now and kicking momma every now and then." The maid smiled happily before turning to look at you unsure. "Um...I see you have a visitor, mi'lady." Akako said shyly as she went about her business. You smiled and said, "Hello. I'm Sam. I'm a frined of Michelle's." At that Akako went wided-eyed. "So YOU'RE the one that's been pestering my Master." You shrugged. "I wouldn't be pestering him if he didn't kidnap my friend, drag her all over my world and this and on top of that being with child with me following. So, yeah, I AM going to pester him until I get my friend back and take her home away from this damn mess." Mich sighed sadly and softly, "I really wish you thought of me more." "Huh?! What are you talking about?! I HAVE been! Why do you think I went through all that hell?!" She looked at you with her big blue eyes and said, "Sam, I can't leave. And I don't want to. At least until I have the babies." Akako watched through the corner of her eyes as she continued to straighten out the room and rang for food to be brought in. You stood there stunned. "Mich...Michelle. Why would you say such a thing?" Mich, who had been sitting down, stood up and looked you right in the eye. "Because these are his...and what is his he will hunt down and get it back." You growled softly and replied angrily, "Michelle! I can HELP you! I can take us somewhere safe! Safe from all this until he forgets about you and the kids!" She put a hand sadly on your shoulder. "I'm sorry." You shook your head in denial. "Um, beg your parden, mi'lady but is there anything else you need?" Akako asked, unsure if she should stop the fight. "No thank you. You are dismissed." was all Michelle said before you went, "Michelle Donna Raeford are you OUT of your DAMN mind?!" She stared at you in shock, stunned you used her full name. "What makes you think for even ONE second I would just give up and go home without you?! Mich... you don't know what this guy's capablr of." She growled angrily and yelled, "Of course I know! Why did you think I've stayed here with him for this long?! Do you know how many people he killed in front of me?! Proving that should I ever leave that'll be my fate after the babies are born?!" You said nothing, just stood there staring in shock that she yelled at you. You sighed and sat down, well, more like plop down in a nearby chair and ran a hand through your hair. "Mich..I'm...so sorry but..." You started before she sat down next to you in the other chair. "I know. You have to understand...one wrong move and he'll do something horrbile to my children."

Hiei's POV

You quietly slip through the halls, avoiding guards easily. You use your Jagan eye, trying to get a fix on where Sam is. 'Most likely in a dugoen.' you thought as you went past rooms. As you went past one door, you heard soft whimpering coming from it. 'Sam!' was the only thing that went through your mind before you quickly and quietly slipped inside. What you saw what was in there you nearly did a double take. For there was Pudding, chained up to the wall and looking very much turn for the worst. "H-h-hiei...? I-is that you?" Pudding said softly, unable to believe what was in front of her. Your eyes narrowed as you slowly went up to her. You quickly scanned her mind to make sure it was her and not some shape-shifter. Your eyes widen in shock before unchaining and catching her. "I...I'm sorry. I-I-i-i d-didn't mean to..they caught me off guard and stoled my form.." She began before you went, "Enough. I know. How bad are you hurt?" You asked as you quickly went over her wounds. You grit your teeth as you saw her back. 'Bastards. Must of tortured her right after catching her." Her back was a complete mess. After doing what you could do at the moment, you gently put her on your back before slinking out of the room. Pudding whimpered softly as you went down the hall, hopefully avoiding any cameras that might be about. 'I can't believe I'm actually taking this girl. Hn. Must be getting soft.' you thought as you continued moving on. You suddenly heard yelling from somewhere down the hall. You thought you heard Samantha's voice but you weren't too sure on it but decided to check it out anyway. Once you got closer to where the voices might have you been, you sent out a small massage. 'Sam? Sam...you in there?' you thought into the room. 'Hiei?!' You heard her reply in shock...tinged with a small amount of happiness and relief. You let out a small sigh of relief before going in there to find her with some woman who was very much pregnant. "Hiei!" Sam said happily before coming over to you. She immediately stopped and saw Pudding. Her eyes widen and looked at you questionably. You nodded. "They caught her and used her form to lure us in." was all you said before saying, "So this the her?" Sam nodded, a little unhappily if you're reading her body language right. 'Onna...what's wrong?' You asked. She turned away. 'Onna..' She sighed softly, 'Mich...says that if we took her Isaac would send out forces to reclaim her and won't stop until he gets her back.' You turned to her and about to read her mind before Sam said, "Hiei...don't even think it." You glared at her before saying, "So you're this...Mich, right?" The woman nodded before saying, "I know what you guys want to do but I'm afraid I can't go with you." You huffed and said, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we came all this way to get you. Not to mention having this girl hurt, just to try to find a way in to get you." Mich cringed a bit.

Your POV

You watch Mich cringe when Hiei said Pudding got hurt before she sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry but I can't..." but was cut off by Hiei, "You're coming with us whether you like it or not." He readjusted Pudding on his back before you offered, "I can take her." He nodded and you took her in your arms. Hiei stormed over to Michelle and they stared at each other for a while before she burst into tears. "All right. You win." He smirked which made you look at him in confusion. 'What did you do?' 'I showed her all that's happen to you and told her that you'll never stop until you got her back.' You were still confused but shook it off. "This is going to be tricky. Just how do we get out here with a wounded girl and a pregnant woman?" You asked Hiei quietly. He gave you a smirk that you knew so well and knew it wasn't good. "I already found a way out but you're not going to like it." You groaned a bit when he said that. "I'm afraid to ask


	20. Chapter 20

'Hiei! I can't believe I let you talk me into this!' you growled at him as you went down the hall. 'Hphm. In case you haven't notice Sam..most of the servants are all female in this part of the castle. Relax, if anything goes wrong you can bail yourself out before I'm forced to.' You glared at nothing in particular as you pushed the cart along. Mich had one in her room so she lent it to the cause. You felt your maid dress start to bother one spot of your back where you can't reach. 'Sam..you okay?' Pudding asked softly from the cart. You smiled slightly and replied, 'I'm fine..just got an ich I can't scratch. How you doing?' 'I'm ok. It hurts only a little bit now.' You felt a slight pang. 'Don't worry, when we all get out of here I'm gonna fix those wounds right up.' She didn't reply but you weren't worried. She needed her rest. You tried to scan the area around to try to find Mich and Hiei but you didn't even catch so much as a shadow. You sighed softly. 'Just hope the fake aura works.' you thought, a little worried that you'll be found out before even reaching the kitchen. Hiei said something about an exit being there. You had a hard time believing that but you trusted him this far. You went "Heh.." softly. 'Hard to believe I actually trust someone on this little adventure besides Mich.' you thought to yourself. Unknown to you, however, Hiei happened to catch that stray thought. 'Hn. Baka onna. She shouldn't even be trusting ME on this adventure.' he thought boredly but secretly happily that you trust.  
You heard a commotion somewhere up ahead and the next second a solider went rushing past you. You stood absolutely still before quickly moving. At the next hall there were two door ways. 'Ah crap. Hiei! Which one?' 'Which one what?' You growl softly, 'Which door?! Left or right?!' After waiting for a few minutes he replied, 'Michelle says it's on the left.' You quickly went before you heard shouting from down the hall. 'Oooh boy.' You think to yourself as you hurry down the new hallway, trying to put as much distance between you and the shouting. 'How's Mich doing?' 'Hn. Fine, I guess. Going slower then anything else.' 'Hiei..she's pregnant. So of COURSE she's going to be slightly slower.' 'Hmph. I know that but considering where WE are...going slow is not a good thing.' You sighed and suddenly caught a whiff of something good. 'Hmmm. Something smells good.' was all you thought before Hiei quickly said, 'Michelle says ignore it. That's just a trap to lure unwanted guests. The next door is the kitchen. SAM!' You growl softly again and went past the door. 'Calm down! I didn't open it!' 'You were thinking about it!' 'Was not!' 'Was too!' 'Not! Look! We can agrue about this later!' The kitchen door was just around the next bend and when you saw it you quickly opened it. "Hey! Girl! Stop!" You heard someone shut at you as you went in. 'Hiei...I think I've been spotted.' 'On it. Don't worry. Just get past the cooks and staffs to the door in the far back. That leads to the swamp.' 'Joy and got it.' Your jaw dropped when you saw how busy it was. It was a mad house! People running all over and people yelling louder then a football game. 'Egads! I better hurry and...' "Girl! Don't just stand there! Throw what you've got outside and get back to work! You're not paid to stand there and look cute!" someone shouted at you. You smiled inwardly at yourself. "On it!" You quickly went to th back door. "GIRL! I said STOP!" Someone shouted behind you. You glance back and saw the solider from earlier. 'Damn it! I've been found!' You thought as you upped the pace and made it. Shouts were coming even louder from behind as the solider tried to get to you. When you finally reached the door you quickly opened it and shut it, after locking it of course. You look up to see Hiei and Mich on the ledge of the castle kitchen. You sighed. "Mich. I can't honestly believe I let you do that. Especially while pregnant." She grinned that same cocky grin she usually gives and replies, "You know me...stubborn to the core. Speaking of which, we should get going before someone notices I'm gone." Immediately you all heard banging on the door. "Too late! Let's go!" You said as you quickly but gently took Pudding out of her hiding place. Hiei jumped down with Michelle and said, "You guys get going! I'll be along in a minute!" "What?! Hiei! Come on! We have to go now!" You said to him as you slowly made your way to the tree line. At that moment the door broke and the solider came out. He saw Michelle and exclaimed, "Mi'lady!" He growled at Hiei and said, "Vulgar kidnappers! Shock Wave!" When he said the last part he dropped to a knee and slammed his hands on the ground. The ground started shaking and rolling towards Hiei, who barely made it of the way. "Sam! Get those two OUT of here!" Hiei growled at you as he fought off the guard. "Not without you!" "Sam! C'mon! He'll catch up with us!" Mich said as she gently grabbed your arm and started to drag you. You glance one more time at Hiei before following her. "Mich! You have to be careful! This swamp is..." "I know, I know. Dangerous! I lived here for a while so I know!" You sighed and gently readjusted Pudding. After running for a couple of hours you guys finally had to stop and rest. Mich somehow found a dry place to sit and took deep breaths. "Mich. Are you alright?" You asked her as you sat Pudding on the ground and started treating her wounds. "I'm fine. Just out of breath but I'll be fine in a few." You nodded. "How's the girl?" You replied as you put the bandages on, "Fine. Pretty banged up but she'll live. She just needs to rest." "Good. Soooo...*evil smirk* what's up with you and hot-toy back there?" At that you blushed like crazy. "He's just helping me get through this world." She laughed. "From the looks of it, it seemed you two are closer then that." The blush deepened as you said, "Whatever. Anyway, it's none of your business." Mich laughed. "I was so right. You have the hots for him! Can't blame you there! He's DAMN good looking!" You couldn't blush more even if you tried. "Michelle! There's a time and place for that! Now's DEFINITELY not the time!" She laughed. "Aw c'mon! You know you like him! If I'm reading your face right you admitted it to yourself. Now the question becomes is this...does he like you back?" "What MY feelings are, baka onna, none of your business and is irrelivent to the problem at hand." said a cold voice and a second later Hiei appeared. Mich smiled and said, "Sorry. Old habits die very hard." You, meanwhile, didn't turn to face him. Just kept doing Pudding's bandages. 'Great. Just great. Now he knows I like him! Aw well.'  
He stared at you for a few seconds before saying, "We have to keep moving. We're still within reach of Isaac's army. Now come on!" You sighed and pick Pudding up again. Mich got up but quickly sat back down. "Mich?! What's wrong?!" You started before she went, "I'm fine. Just over did it." Hiei sighed and brought out a compact. You raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were into make-up." You commented. He glared at you before saying, "This is NOT make-up! This thing'll take us back to the beginning of the swamp." With that he pressed some buttons and a portal appeared. Mich groaned. "Not again. I hate those things." Hiei looked at you before saying, "Well? You coming or what?" You gulp silently before walking to and through the portal. You let out a sigh of relief when you appeared in front of the swamp. Mich followed next who was followed by Hiei. "So..." Mich began. "What now?" "Now..." You began but stopped. Truth be told you didn't know what to do. All you wanted to do was get your friend away from that demon and find a safe place. Hiei sighed and offered, "You could always stay with me. I know a safe place. Hard to get to but it's the best chance you have." "Where?"


	21. Chapter 21

Hiei smirked and said, "Mukuro's castle." You and Mich turn to each other and look at him. "Who?" "All the time I was at the castle Isaac never mentioned her." He sighed and replied, "She was the ruler of part of the Makai but lost in a tournment a while back. Now she and others like me help with lost ningens." You nodded at that. "I already know that part. I nearly got caught by an Irsh wind demon." Hiei looked at you funny for a second before realizing who you were talking about. "Ah. You mean that annoying Jin." He did a double take. "You ran into him?! He's further down from my post then where I met you!" "I know. I was running from him when I "met" those demons you saved me from." Mich sighed. "Rieces Pieces I cannot BELIEVE you. Going head first into danger like that." You glared at her. "Don't call me that! Jeesh! Just rescued and you're already name calling me!" Mich smirked at you while Hiei stared at you. Pudding mumbled, "Who's Rieces Pieces?" "No one." You growled. You picked her back up and start to storm away from them. "Just WHAT are you talking about? What's a Rieces Pieces?" Hiei asked her but you cut her off. "Don't tell him! Bad enough I told you! Don't be going telling other people!" She snickered at you but said, "It's candy that's common in the human world. When we were kids, I dared her to eat *outragous number* of them and she ATE them all!" She laughed a bit as she continued. "Afterwards she was so sick that she couldn't even budge an inch!" "ARG! ENOUGH, MICHELLE! IF YOU DON'T STOP I'LL SHAVE YOUR HAIR OFF!" Immediately she became quiet and Hiei looked at you funny before going back to his usual expression. You shook your head. "So where too from here? I mean, we can't keep traveling for long with Pudding's condition." You said to the group.  
Hiei sighed and replied, "We're going past the springs where we stopped before. It's only a few days from here so don't panic something." You sigh. "I know. I just don't wan Michelle traveling too much in her conition. Once we get there we'll have to stay a few days so she can regain her strength." Mich sighed and replied, "I'm right HERE, ya know." "I know. I'm saying it so YOU'LL know...knowing you you would just continue as is to this Muruko person instead of taking it easy. I don't WANT you to go into early labor...in fact I don't want you in labor until we're somewhere safe." She smiled. "You haven't changed at all...except for finding cute guys and a whole lot of trouble." "MICHELLE!" You screamed as you guys resumed walking. "I swear if you weren't pregnant I'd be drop kicking your ass!" "Oh please! You know you love me!" was her reply. "Hn. Ningen onnas are insane." Hiei muttered as he hurried ahead of you two. "Hey Hiei! Wait up! Don't LEAVE me with her!" Mich cried after him. "Why not? She's your friend...the same one who spent months looking for you." was his reply before disappearing. "Hey! Where'd he go?! Where's he going?!" Mich asked wide eyed at his sudden action. "He always does that some times. Don't worry..he'll be back later. Probably when we set up camp tonight."  
~Setting up camp~  
"Oh. My. God. Sam! You never told me about some of the plants here! Their evil incarnate!" Michelle commented as she laid down on your bed. You decided to let her have the bed you've been using since you started this whole advanture. You laughed. "I know. Tell me about it. I've met up with a few and barely managed to escape. And that's BEFORE I met Hiei." She sighed and stretched out, putting her hands behind her head. "This is the longest I've been outside into the Makai. Normally Isaac wouldn't let me set a FOOT near any door." You glanced at her before she didn't add anything else. You sigh softly and checked Pudding's dressings. 'Good. The medicine I used is working good. At this rate she should be good as new in a few weeks.' you thought to yourself. *You know, you shouldn't worry about her so much...she's stronger than what she looks like..if her wounds are any indication* You heard a famailer voice say in your head and looked up to see Hiei in the tree above you. You smiled and said, "Hey. I was wondering if you were coming back." "Hn. I'll come and go as I please." was all he said before jumping down next to you and sat by the fire. You shook your head and covered the monkey demon up before going to sit by him. "Sooo...Hiei...what's up? Did you go and see that Murko person?" Michelle asked, turning to face him. He glanced at her before replying, "I did, she...agreed to it...for a price." You looked at him. "What price?" "That in a month or two you two will go back to the Ningen world and stay there for three weeks." You and Michelle said, "Huh? What are you talking about?" He glared at you two, Mich shivered slightly and turned away but you stood your ground. "What's the reason? Is there something special going on in two months?" He growled. "Fine. Since you don't seem to want to agree you guys aren't going to the castle." "Hey! Wait a minute! What kind of crap is that?! Just answer my questions!" "Don't have to!" "Ah. Yes. You do. I'm not agreeing to anything until you answer!" "Sam..." Hiei growled warningly but you continued stubbornly. "Hiei! Just SAY something! A hint! Anything!" "SAM! I don't have to answer ANYTHING you ask! I'm just taking you guys there long enough to recover and then you're going home! End of story!" Hiei snapped at you before taking off. You stared after him, hurt and confused about what just happen. "Woooooow. You said he had a temper but man! now THAT'S a temper!" was all Mich said before yawning. "I don't know about you but I'm going to bed. Night." "Night." You said quietly before moving to a tree so you can watch the camp. You sighed softly. 'Wonder what's gotten into Hiei? He seemed a little...out of it. That fight wasn't like our usual ones. I hope he's ok. I wonder if it's something I did.' "*sigh* I'm fine Onna. It's nothing you did." Hiei said before seating next to you. You turn to look at him and saw he was a little distracted again. "Hey. What's up? Usually you're on full alert but...you seem kinda...out of it." His gaze, which had been looking over the camp, snapped back to you and replied, "I'm fine. It just seems...too easy." "Hm? What do you mean?" "I mean, getting your friend out of there without bumping into Isaac. He's up to something. I'm trying to figure out what." You suddenly smiled. Hiei glared at you a little before asking, "What are you smiling about?" "That was probably the first time you actually TALKED about what was on your mind. I'm glad." He blushed slightly and quickly turned away.  
"Hn. DON'T get use to it. I don't care for talking about feelings and such nonsense." You smirk and said, "You say that now but when you do later I'M gonna remind you you said this." He glared at you. "Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?" You shook your head. "I didn't want to. At least until you got here." He sighed. "I take it you trust me now?" You smiled cutely at him. "Yeah. Surprised? Join the club. I started to go through everything that's been going on and discovered I trust you." Unknown to you, he smiled a little before wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close. You sigh sleepily and laid your head on his shoulder and fell asleep. Just as you were falling asleep you felt a warm pair of lips on your own.

~At the springs...finally~

"Damn it Pudding! Quit LICKING those wounds! Their starting to heal finally! They'll get infected and I'll have to use MORE medicine on you!" You growled at Pudding, who woke up a few days ago, who was licking a wound on her arm. She glared and stuck her tongue out at you. You growled again and yelled, "PUDDING! ENOUGH! THEY'LL GET INFECTED AND THEN WHAT!" "Sam! Calm down! Yelling at her won't work." Mich said in a calm voice before asking sweetly, "Pudding dear. Will you please STOP agitating your injuries? You'll get sick if they get infected." Pudding sighed and replied, "I can't help it. It's in my nature." You sighed. "That's what yo said yesterday when you tried to EAT my tooth paste." She grinned sheepishly before taking off. "Hey! PUDDING! Git your furry butt BACK HERE! You're still injured!" "Hn. Don't worry so much. Let her learn the hard way." Hiei said while leaning on a nearby tree. You glared at him before replying angrily, "She doesn't NEED to wander about!" "But Sam, he's right. Let her run around. Sides, I'll watch her.3" You sighed as Mich said that. "Oh alright. You both win." "Yea!3 I'm right for once!" Mich went. You made a face at her before grabbing some cloths and a towl. "Where you going?" Hiei asked rudely. You glared and replied, "I'm going to take a bath. That alright with you?" You didn't give him a chance to answer before you took off. Once you were far away from them, you sighed. 'Guess that proves I'm still mad at him. Ah well. I've never question him hard before about anything. I'm sure he has his reasons for not telling.' You found a nice secluded spot and got in. "Awww..I still can't believe how nice these waters feel. Wish I can stay here forever." You sighed out loud.  
You closed your eyes and leaned against a rock that was near the edge of the spring. You heard some splashing somewhere up ahead of you but you assumed it was the waterfall. You didn't notice someone was in there with you until they said, "That's a good way to become a demon's snack, onna." Your eyes snapped open to find Hiei in the water on the opposite side of the spring. You growled. "I was still paying attention, Hiei! No need to tell me something I already know! Hm?" You started before noticing that he didn't have a shirt on...and from the looks of things...nothing on for that matter either. Immediately you feel a blush form on your face when you realized that you guys were completely nude and quickly duck deeper into the water. "Hiei?! What's the big idea?! Haven't you heard a thing called privacy?!" Hiei smirked slowly before making his way towards you. You turned around to try to cover yourself better using the surroundings when you felt a pair of arms wrap around you.


End file.
